Nashville sheriff offers mentally ill an alternative to jail

Sheriff Daron Hall of the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee noticed an increase in people suffering from mental illness who also faced charges within the criminal justice system in Nashville.

After speaking to community stakeholders, he realized that local jails were becoming mental health institutions. He embraced the opportunity to change that and also wanted to offer these individuals a new way to communicate with loved ones that would provide more privacy than in a correctional setting.

Sheriff Daron Hall took funds to build what leaders in his community felt was needed – another jail – and used that money to build a mental healthcare facility, the Behavior Care Center (BCC) in Nashville.