“When I first arrived, I didn’t believe in myself, and I didn’t expect to be standing up here giving a speech, much less graduating. I’m sure some of y’all felt the same way.”
“They learn skills here—academic skills, life skills, coping skills. More importantly, they practice resilience,” said Shona Farrish, a Mental Health Practitioner and therapist in the BHU. “They practice patience. They practice accountability. These are tools they will carry far beyond these walls.”
An audience of community leaders across county services – from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Management Office, and Behavioral Health Services–had assembled to witness graduation at the Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) in the Forsyth County Detention Center in North Carolina, and to celebrate the impact the county-funded program has on each graduate’s life and future.
The graduate at the microphone described the program’s impact.
“I came into this program not knowing what to take from it. I came into this program a stranger to myself. A few months later, I have a best friend, better than any I’ve had in my short 19 years on this earth, and it’s myself.”
This graduate’s transformation is extraordinary, but in the BHU, it’s far from unusual.
Forsyth County’s Behavioral Health Unit and Program
The BHU is a unit within the Forsyth County Detention Center that provides a structured environment that supports insight, skill-building, safety, and therapeutic engagement.
“They learn skills here—academic skills, life skills, coping skills. More importantly, they practice resilience,” said Shona Farrish, a Mental Health Practitioner and therapist in the BHU. “They practice patience. They practice accountability. These are tools they will carry far beyond these walls.”
The BHU can house up to 20 men participating in NaphCare’s specialized, jail-based behavioral health program serving adults with severe and persistent mental illness who are not able to function safely in the facility’s general population. Adult males with serious mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression) can apply or be referred to the BHU, and after a safety review with custody, each individual is assessed for appropriate program fit. Admission is voluntary, and patients must actively participate to remain enrolled, which honors personal agency and builds the internal motivation that lasting change requires.
The BHU stabilizes patients through closely monitored medication management and equips them with real, practical coping skills. Over three months, participants immerse themselves in a consistent rhythm of care and insight-building, learning, often for the first time, about their mental illness, how to manage their symptoms, and strategies for navigating life's challenges.
They also learn that they are not alone in their struggle through weekly individual therapy and intensive group therapy.
“Patients participate in two group sessions a day. Which, if you break that down, they are participating in close to 146 groups over three months,” said Joshua Bowen, who has been a Mental Health Practitioner and therapist in the BHU since it was founded in 2021. “There are a lot of myths about people in jail and what jail looks like, but these are people who care. These guys take care of each other.”
These patient outcomes also benefit the facility. Learning and applying skills in the BHU creates a safer environment for graduates, their fellow residents, and custody staff. It also helps the facility manage resources by increasing the percentage of residents who can live among their peers with less direct intervention and management.
Graduation and Ongoing Support
BHU graduations are held quarterly. Each ceremony is made especially meaningful by heartfelt video and voice messages from family members and loved ones, a reminder that healing doesn't happen in isolation.
“Before it's time for graduation, they give me names of their loved ones, and I call them and ask if they can send a text, a voicemail, or a video message,” said Sheila Phillips, a Mental Health Discharge social worker with the BHU. “Sometimes it's their moms, their dads, their grandmas. Sometimes they haven’t communicated in ten years. When the loved ones hear about the difference in the individual and all of the work they are doing, walls start to come down.”
For men who struggle with mental illness and social isolation, this connection in a moment of accomplishment is profound.
After graduation, participants transition to the facility’s general population equipped with skills for life management, including mindfulness, emotional regulation, and strategies for navigating challenges. Some graduates even transition from the BHU to become facility workers, residing in the worker dormitory. Graduates receive the proactive healthcare services provided to all patients in the facility. They also receive two months of support from dedicated NaphCare team members like Sheila Phillips, who works with them to ensure stability through the transition.
“I follow them after they graduate,” said Phillips. “I love when they are able to participate as part of the general population when they hadn’t been able to before. The relationships they made in the BHU help them, and many graduates have regular visitors, though they never had before.”
Supporting Individual and Community Health
The BHU partnership between Forsyth County Detention Center and NaphCare directly addresses the most common causes of recidivism—serious mental illness and maladaptive coping mechanisms. This graduation is a reminder that behavioral and mental health support creates genuine opportunities for individual change and the possibility of breaking cycles of recidivism.
And as incredible as the individual changes are, nothing shines a clearer light on the potential transformation for communities than seeing graduates turn their attention to helping and encouraging others. The graduate who spoke about making friends with himself really brought this point home as he addressed a group of men in an earlier stage of the program, working towards their own graduation.
“To the future graduates: take advantage of this opportunity. Use the coping skills that you will learn, and make the best of it! Never underestimate yourself. We each have so much potential within ourselves, and with some dedication and ambition, we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.”
Congratulations to the latest graduating class of the Forsyth County Behavioral Health Unit. Your hard work, resilience, and commitment matter, and so does your future.
