Abstract
Mentally ill women are the largest growing inmate population, have high recidivism rates, and have different needs than their male counterparts. This group is grossly under-represented in the literature and requires more attention. This Community Resource Guide or Pink Pack was created to equip mentally ill women leaving jail with useful resources for their day-to-day lives in order to assist them in successfully reentering their communities and reduce or eliminate their rates of recidivism. It was created by identifying the needs of these women through existing literature, personal communications with professionals in the field, and face-to-face interviews with mentally ill women themselves. Community resources that would address these needs most effectively for this group were assembled into an attractive, easy to read and carry packet that these women could utilize in making their community re-entry and probation more successful. The goal is that this packet will be implemented within the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department jail system and be given to mentally ill women upon release through either the Crisis Intervention Team or Psyche Services.