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Life on the Outside Dan Collison has the story of a man who has been in and out of jail, trying to break the cycle of crime and incarceration. Jails and prisons are fast becoming America's largest psychiatric hospitals. Chicago's Cook County Jail, for example, is Illinois' biggest mental health facility, treating a thousand men and women on an average day. In the jail's mental health facility, staff work to stabilize detainees while they serve their time and to help facilitate their transition when they are released. Colbert is 45 and has been diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses--he's served time for attempted murder, theft and other offenses. But once on the outside, Colbert and the mental health workers have different agendas. This story was produced for the Chicago Matters series on member station WBEZ in Chicago.

All Things Considered

Life on the Outside

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Life on the Outside

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Dan Collison has the story of a man who has been in and out of jail, trying to break the cycle of crime and incarceration. Jails and prisons are fast becoming America's largest psychiatric hospitals. Chicago's Cook County Jail, for example, is Illinois' biggest mental health facility, treating a thousand men and women on an average day. In the jail's mental health facility, staff work to stabilize detainees while they serve their time and to help facilitate their transition when they are released. Colbert is 45 and has been diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses—he's served time for attempted murder, theft and other offenses. But once on the outside, Colbert and the mental health workers have different agendas. This story was produced for the Chicago Matters series on member station WBEZ in Chicago.