There was a time long ago when our streets and public places weren’t full of mentally ill people who are unable to look after themselves.  The families of people who suffer from schizophrenia will tell you there is isn’t any help available for their loved ones, that they watch in despair as their children or siblings deteriorate over time or even disappear because the government has decided to just let them wander the streets rather than provide treatment.  The crazy woman eating a dead bird and muttering to herself was once somebody’s beautiful little girl before she became schizophrenic, probably in her late teens or early twenties.

This man clearly had a family who loved him and had no idea how to help him.  He called for his dad as he was being beaten to death.  In a civilized society this man would have been under care, either as an outpatient, or if that wasn’t possible, in an institution where he would have been looked after.  Our jails and prisons are full of mentally ill people, because they frighten people and cause disturbances when their illnesses aren’t treated.  Once there they often receive the treatment they need and their condition stabilizes or even improves until they are released back out onto the streets with no follow up care.