The groundbreaking Mental Health Court is saving lives and giving participants fresh hope for the future.

This according to the men and women who have taken part in the treatment programme as well as the team of lawyers, probation officers, court services staff and judges that work to provide the service.

In the past two years, dozens of men and women have successfully completed the Mental Health Treatment Court Programme (MHTCP) with many gaining employment and pursuing further education.

This success has even preceded the Bermuda Government providing a legislative framework for the programme, which is expected to be tabled in the upcoming Parliamentary session.

Lawyer Saul Dismont told The Royal Gazette that “therapeutic jurisprudence” was having an enormous positive effect rehabilitating and reducing crime as well as saving money.

“In the last few years there has been a steady decline in crime and the prison population is at an all-time low,” Mr Dismont said. “It must be recognised that over that same period the Drug Treatment Court programme has more than doubled its participants and the Mental Health Court has been established.

“The DTC has a 75 per cent success rate and MHTCP reflects the same, meaning that where a person successfully completes the programme 75 per cent will never reoffend. Clearly the therapeutic approach is having more of an effect than just punishment and means a safer society.

“The programme does not just improve the lives of the participants. The sessions are often very emotional and you cannot fail to be moved by what you see and hear. Like all the professionals who appear regularly before that court, the clients have had a profound effect on me.”

Since October 2013 when it first started, about 60 men and women have had some form of contact with the Mental Health Court, which meets behind closed doors every Thursday afternoon.

Most clients on the programme have been dual diagnosed as suffering from both mental illness and substance dependence.

Russ Ford, senior probation officer, said: “The programme has bridged the gap between individuals coming from the brink of being a miserable failure to one which they become fully engaged participants in the programme.

“We provide hope to individuals that they can change their life.

“We have seen a remarkable decrease in the number of mental health clients going to prison. They are spending more time in the community with their families and potential employers. That is a very good and significant knock-on effect.”

Kelly Madeiros, who coordinates the programme for Court Services, told this newspaper the community still needed more mental health resources.

“Each person comes with their own history, journey and diagnosis and each person is treated individually based on their specific treatment, needs and goals,” Ms Madeiros said.

“The most important relationship within the system that seems to affect the most change has been with the magistrate. The clients who have had many years of feeling disempowered finally feel as though they are being heard.

“The assistance from the MHTCP of navigating through a disjointed system has assisted clients get food, basic health insurance, access to school, volunteer and employment placements as well as access to mental healthcare. The success of the court has not been without numerous community partners and charities.”