Resource April 18, 2018

Meet the Journalist: John Yang

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61-year old James Butler spent nearly 35 years on the streets suffering from mental illness and addiction. 10 months ago he was taken to the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center where he sobered up and a case worker got him a bed at Benilde Hall, a sober home for men.
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Two reports on criminal justice: a look at efforts to keep the mentally ill out of jail and an...

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Sixty-one-year old James Butler spent nearly 35 years on the streets suffering from mental illness and addiction. Ten months ago he was taken to the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center where he sobered up and a case worker got him a bed at Benilde Hall, a home for men.
Sixty-one-year old James Butler spent nearly 35 years on the streets suffering from mental illness and addiction. Ten months ago he was taken to the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center where he sobered up and a case worker got him a bed at Benilde Hall, a home for men.

An estimated 2 million people suffering from mental illness are booked into county jails annually. John Yang, national correspondent for PBS NewsHour, follows this story from the courtrooms to the streets, where a police crisis intervention team is trying to help the mentally ill before they are arrested. The PBS NewsHour team also travels to the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center and to an ER where too many have ended up in the past. While those who have been helped have compelling stories to share, the programs still have to prove their success statistically in order to maintain funding.

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