CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – For the past two years, Circuit Court Judge Katy Olita has been working to bring a Mental Health Court to Montgomery County. With a vote on Monday by the County Commission, the court could soon be in session.

The 19th Judicial District Mental Health Court will help individuals charged with crimes get the help they need if they are dealing with mental health issues. This includes in-house resources or outsourcing to mental health programs.

“Certainly, we can say that there are individuals with serious and persistent mental health issues that aren’t receiving the treatment and services that they deserve,” Olita told Clarksville Now. “That impacts the health and well-being of our community.”

Origin of the program

The idea started in the fall of 2021 when Olita attended the Tennessee Judicial Conference and heard a panel discussion on mental health courts.

Olita looked into whether Montgomery County needed this type of resource, and she reached out to Sheriff John Fuson, Clarksville Police Chief David Crockarell and others. They agreed this type of program would not only help the community but also local law enforcement.

She applied for and received a Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Health Foundation grant for $232,000. “They were so incredibly generous in awarding me the full amount of the grant,” Olita said. “It’s allowed us to kick off this program with everything we could possibly dream of and need.”

The program already has an employee, Sharita Brown, hired as coordinator and program manager. She’s been working out the court’s day-to-day functions such as deciding what a participant’s program needs to look like based on their needs.

Olita said Brown has hit the ground running building relationships with resource centers such as Centerstone, Mental Health Co-Op, Unity Psychiatric, Austin Peay State University, and the Montgomery County Health Department.

“I think the key has been shining a light on the need in our community,” Olita said. “Once we all got together, I think everyone was unified in this concept that the way we’ve been doing things is not serving our community members anymore and we need to change our approach.

The Mental Health Court has also received $180,600 in state funding.

Program qualifications

The program is voluntary for a defendant 18 or older who has committed a misdemeanor or felony offense and has a severe or persistent mental health condition. Certain criminal charges will be excluded from the program.

“I’m hopeful to connect with our participants in a way that is designed to help them,” Olita said. “If they are successful, that may mean a positive resolution for their criminal charges. Ultimately, if we can help one person, it’ll been worth it. It’s been a lot of work, but even if it helps just one person – it’ll have been worth it.”

The County Commission will vote on the matter at the next commission meeting, 6 p.m. Monday at the County Courthouse.