Law Enforcement Awards Dinner and Fundraiser Organized by David’s Hope Board Members

Mary Lou- Founder of David’s Hope and Leader of the Arizona Mental Health & Criminal Justice Coalition Mary Lou Brncik is the Founder and President of David’s Hope and Chair of the Arizona Mental Health & Criminal Justice Coalition. Born in Akron, Ohio, she is the mother of six children, four sons and two daughters. She had her first experience with mental illness when her brother was diagnosed as a teenager with schizophrenia. She has been married to her husband Paul for 38 years and currently resides in Phoenix AZ. Her former vocation working as a nurse, provided a good foundation into the world of mental disorders. Mary Lou’s son David was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder at the age of 23. Soon after, David’s life intersected with Arizona’s criminal justice system. These events led Mary Lou to years of battling both the mental health and criminal justice systems to get treatment for her son. This work eventually grew into a mission to help others. The goal being, that no one else would have to fight such insurmountable odds to receive mental health care and to prevent others with a mental disease from being thrown into the criminal justice system.

Who is David’s Hope ? “David's Hope seeks to divert those with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders away from the criminal justice system and into comprehensive community-based treatment and support services. David's Hope teaches people how to advocate for themselves and others by empowering them with information, training, resources, and mentoring. Through education and mentoring we hope to create understanding in the community of the issues facing those living with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system.”

What Does David’s Hope Do ?  Develop a comprehensive state plan for behavioral health/criminal justice collaboration.  Advocate to bridge gaps between law enforcement and the community.  Strengthen coordination and information sharing among reentry stakeholders.  Educate and prepare communities for the reintegration of the formerly incarcerated.  Strengthen faith-based partnerships, mentoring, and other community based partnerships, to promote successful family and community reintegration.  Engage families, children, and juveniles through each phase of the reentry spectrum.

Why Does David’s Hope do this? David's Hope is working to promote more effective use of court monitored mental health treatment. We must hold our public mental health care providers accountable for outcomes. On average, people with mental illnesses remain incarcerated eight times longer than people without mental illnesses arrested for the exact same charge, at a cost seven times higher. With little treatment available, many individuals cycle through the system for the majority of their adult lives. By demanding transparency and accountability from our mental health and criminal justice systems, we know our cities will become safer.

Arizona Mental Health & Criminal Justice Coalition The Coalition’s goal is: Prevention, Treatment and Reintegration. Community outreach and education has been a tool for accomplishing the Coalition’s goals. Extensive outreach into the community through the creation of public Roundtable Dialogues continues on an ongoing basis. An expansion of Mental Health Courts and improvements in mental health and addiction treatment for the incarcerated remain agency priorities. Current projects include the creation of a resource guide for the incarcerated and the “Book Bag Project” to provide basic necessities to those reentering our communities after incarceration.

Where does David’s Hope Advocate ? David's Hope is leading a statewide coalition which will promote the use of best practices in Arizona's mental health and criminal justice systems. We invite both individuals and organizations to become a part of our formal network. We will be addressing such issues as safety and health care in our jails and prisons, ending the practice of placing individuals diagnosed with a mental illness in solitary confinement, reforming mandatory sentencing laws and limiting the practice of sentencing juveniles in the adult system. We seek to create positive relationships with criminal justice agencies and promote the use of these best practices

The Future of David’s Hope ! The Arizona Mental Health and Criminal Justice Coalition : Seeks to be inclusive of a diverse range of reform issues and to be a catalyst which will reduce recidivism, while providing better outcomes through treatment and diversion opportunities. Incarceration cannot cure or alleviate the effects of mental health and substance use disorders but treatment can. David's Hope needs you to help make our cross system collaboration a success. Thank you and Be Safe.

David’s Hope Board Members Mary Lou Brncik—CEO Rae Hopf—Board President Debi Rose—Board Secretary Joy Green Scott Gormley Tom Gussie Steve Harvey Rebekah Trexler Sean Brady Linda Zweig Victoria Ames