Breakdown

A breakdown in mental health services across the state of Colorado has left law enforcement on the front lines of handling people in crisis.

The Rocky Mountain PBS Insight with John Ferrugia team spent more than a year gathering stories from all over the state showing the often-tragic interactions between the criminal justice system and people who are suffering a mental health crisis.

The stories show mentally ill people are being shot by police and officers are being wounded and even killed in these interactions.

People, often judged mentally incompetent, are spending months in jail without trial waiting through a backlogged mental evaluation system. And police officers say rather than investigating crimes, they are often spending much of their day trying to help people who should be receiving mental health treatment.

In this special hour-long program, “Breakdown,” Insight explores how jails have become the primary gateway to mental health treatment in Colorado, and is asking what the state is doing to try to address it.

If you need mental health services, contact Colorado Crisis Services for confidential support: 844-493-TALK (8255) or text “TALK” to 38255.

Three-Part Breakdown Podcast Series

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