Institutionalized: Mental Health Behind Bars

America’s relationship with its mentally ill population continues to suffer as a result of inadequacies in the country’s mental health care system.

For the mentally ill in Chicago, the effects of this inadequacy are felt on a magnified scale, as budget cuts and a lack of community-based mental health resources have left these individuals with minimal support. More often than not, this means being repeatedly swept up into the criminal justice system for low-level, non-violent crimes