LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - A program to help people struggling with mental health problems get treatment and stay out of jail is back in operation in Jackson County.

After a four-year hiatus, the county’s mental health court is officially reinstated. The Jackson County mental health court ran for 13 years before shutting down during the pandemic due to funding and staffing issues.

On Nov. 18, county commissioners accepted a state grant of $103,286 to bring back the court.

The mental health court gives people who committed crimes due to mental illness a second chance at life.

“When you get a disease, I think the appropriate part is to treat the disease and not just lock someone up in a jail and keep them away from society,” said Robert Gaecke, mental health court judge.

When Judge Robert

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