Frontline's look at Mental Illness

I failed you.

I wasn’t paying attention to the program alerts from PBS and IPTV.

Tuesday night, Frontline re-aired their look at mental illness. Their big question focused on the old institutionalization way of keeping the mentally ill inside locked walls, for some, most of their lives.

Here is the program description:

“A rare and intimate look into the lives of mentally ill offenders struggling to make it on the outside. This year alone, hundreds of thousands of prisoners with serious mental illness will be released into communities across America. Within 18 months, nearly two-thirds will be re-arrested.”

Here’s the link to Frontline’s website about the program. You can also go straight to the program by clicking here. Thank goodness for the internet.

The Iowa Journal looked at this issue a couple of times. Here is the link to earlier blog posts about those shows. Producer Nancy Crowfoot went to a residential rehab facility in Fort Dodge.

Please give this Frontline program a look. We all need to know more about mental illness and how we can help understand more about what so many are dealing with. For years, funding for treatment has been hard to come by. If you are looking to help, there are several organizations that would help answer your questions and point you in the direction of helping. Many counties in Iowa have National Alliance on Mentally Illnes or NAMI chapters. The Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Iowa has a website. So does NAMI Scott County.

During our time in Scott County and the QC, they were doing some great things. Please consider donating your time to help others.

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