Thank you for shining a light on this. I have numerous close family members with different types of mental illness, including what you describe your Mom suffered from. (I hate the labels ). To the list of shortcomings in the way our society deals with mental illness you point out, I must add the bureaucracy (both public and private). As a lawyer, I find it difficult to maneuver through the various layers of bureaucracy. How is someone with severe mental illness supposed to know how to get the care they need?