“A Fragile State” investigated Louisiana’s failing mental health system to explore how the state’s systematic dismantling of its public mental health care structure has impacted families and communities. We followed a father, Reggie, as he cared for his adult son with schizophrenia through repeated hospitalizations and fractured care. Through the eyes of a devoted mother named Hope, we explain how dwindling resources and stigma in rural communities contributed to her son’s suicide. With the story of a military veteran in north Louisiana killed in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies called to escort him to a VA hospital, we examined whether law enforcement agencies across the state are prepared for a growing number of mental health crisis calls.
We sought public records from every one of the state’s law enforcement agencies and found that only 62 of the 146 that responded had adopted policies to guide officers on responding to mental health crisis calls. We told the story of Katrina Brees, whose mother committed suicide with a firearm. Katrina is now advocating for Louisiana to enact a “no guns” self-registry, allowing people to ban themselves from buying guns. Joy Smith’s son burned down their family’s home, killing himself in the process, after decades of struggling to find long-term care for his schizophrenia, a struggle many low-income families face. We also dug deeper into a high-profile robbery and attack in the French Quarter in New Orleans to uncover how the failed mental health care system contributed to the events.