In the last quarter century, many of the mentally ill in this country were discharged from hospitals with no coherent provision for follow-up care. The hundreds of thousands wandering the streets evoke our compassion, stir our conscience, and, for those mentally ill who are violent, test our definition of individual rights and liberties. FRONTLINE examines the troubling conflict between protecting the rights of the mentally ill to live outside of the mental hospitals and safeguarding society from those who are dangerous to themselves and to others. To explore this dilemma, the program focuses on the community of Northampton, Massachusetts, and the personal stories of one family, several mentally ill residents, and the lawyers, psychiatrists, and care givers who deal with the mentally ill on a daily basis.
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