But that support never came through. The patients ended up in back streets all over America. This report follows some of these mental patients. We learn that profitable adult homes have sprung up which are often inadequate and resented by the community. Sometimes former patients are housed in nursing homes converted to locked psychiatric centers.
Some communities resort to locking up the mentally ill in jail.
Others leave them to wander the streets. There are also examples of successful community treatment programs. It takes money, staff and care, but we see that it can be done. Avoiding public shelters, they struggle to survive on their own, sleeping in their cars or on a friend's sofa, enduring their plight with strength, sadness and humor. See the full description.