City Journal has a good article about the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, focusing on the sad souls living between the streets, jail, and emergency room of Olympia, Washington. A key quote:
Individuals suffering from the “perilous trifecta” of mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.
Instead of caring for the broken, we’ve apparently decided to ignore them whenever possible and imprison them when they refuse to be ignored. In the process we’ve degraded our public spaces. We should be ashamed of our inaction.
