COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Monday is the launch of a national program called “Face to face” giving voice to those incarcerated and working within the prisons a chance to tell elected officials and policymakers their challenges.

NBC4 went behind bars at a prison in Orient to speak with people involved.

The Correctional Reception Center is the first stop for state inmates sent from 62 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Three major issues folks talked about are the growing drug epidemic, gangs and an ever-increasing number of offenders with mental health issues.

“I have a history of mental health and the staff we have here have been instrumental in getting me stable and putting my mental health in perspective,” said Taylor Wynn, 36.

Wynn did 12 years in prison and said he is back behind bars for five months on a parole violation. He told Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine he is getting the mental help in prison that he needs, but worries about when he is out of prison.

“If we had that kind of mentor in society, I think our diagnosis could be better treated,” Wynn said.

Director of Ohio’s prisons Gary Mohr said 11,000 of the state’s inmates are facing mental health issues.

As for the drug epidemic, Mohr said women are the fastest growing prison population. He said many of them have short sentences, but are coming into the system addicted.

He believes we need to be combated all the issues spoken about at an earlier age.

“I would like to see us in a movement where we provide more governmental money, more of our budget earlier in people’s lives instead of the repository that is our system,” said Mohr.

DeWine said if you look at the violent crimes in most of our major cities a significant amount of crime is coming from people who members of gangs. “So the gang problem is one with have to contend with, not just in prisons,” he said. “Many communities have their own gang unit and at BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) we support that.”

There are more than 50,000 people locked up in 27 prisons spread around the state. Mohr said one fourth of all state employees now work for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.