State mental health

An excellent article on the dismal state of mental health resources.

If you have a friend with mental illness, getting resources from the state will usually make the problem much worse, not better.  For those that I've talked to (especially in the South), these places are essentially prisons.  Even psychologists who have a legal requirement to notify the authorities if a patient threatens to harm themself or others strongly hesitate to do so, knowing it will make the problem worse.

Tragically, paranoid schizophrenia is a completely treatable illness.  However, if a loved one is suffering mental illness, seek private assistance.