OTC Attorney Michelle Eldien speaking at a press conference at the capitol. (KSTP 5 News)
Fergus Falls, MN – Otter Tail County Attorney Michelle Eldien has joined dozens of Minnesota Sheriffs and County Attorneys in urging lawmakers to pass a bonding bill to help with the mental health crisis.
At a press conference, Eldien spoke about her history with the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center from early in her career, “I remember, at the time, when it closed, that a lot of us in the room now were wondering, ‘What the heck is going to happen and what are they going to do about this and where are these beds going to be?’ And I find it fascinating that I’m standing here, almost thirty years later, wondering that same question.”
Eldien says that law enforcement is in a daily crisis of figuring out where to put people in these because there’s no place but the jail. She says she often deals with law enforcement or fellow inmates being attacked or assaulted by people that should be treated, not held in custody. She adds, “All of us have had liability because of these issues. We are being sued. We are sued because the attacks are happening in the jail and they are trying to figure out how to manage these people without psychiatry backgrounds.”
Eldien says Minnesotans need a commitment by the legislators to build capacity, “Do it today. Not next year, not the next year after that.”
