{"id":8677,"date":"2015-01-02T16:30:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-02T22:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8677"},"modified":"2015-01-02T16:23:11","modified_gmt":"2015-01-02T22:23:11","slug":"iow-we-are-all-shortchanged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8677","title":{"rendered":"IOW: We are all SHORTCHANGED"},"content":{"rendered":"

With many Roger Ebert<\/strong> fans fixated on his spiritual triumph over late-in-life physiological battles, as addressed in LIFE ITSELF<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, we must remember he and Chaz Ebert<\/strong> at least had options available to him for medical procedures and living aids. Innumerable other United States<\/strong> citizens struggle with accessing services they need despite our healthcare overhaul, including those who suffer from mental issues and run afoul of the law due to misinterpreted behaviors.<\/p>\n

Unusual for a small-market newspaper, The Pantagraph<\/strong><\/span> in Bloomington<\/strong> commissioned a long-form video from staff reporter Edith Brady-Lunny<\/strong> and photography editor David Proeber<\/strong>, investigating how this predicament affects McLean County<\/strong> on multiple fronts. SHORTCHANGED: UNJAILING THE MENTALY ILL<\/strong> talks about county and state officials openly recognizing a need for alternatives given how the McLean County Detention Facility<\/strong>, instead of hospitals or clinics, had become the largest supplier of mental health services in the area. According to opening moments in SHORTCHANGED<\/strong>, approximately 350,000 inmates nationwide and more than 25% inhabiting the McLean jail exhibit problems of this nature, forcing officers to handle a population ill-equipped to spend any amount of time behind bars.<\/p>\n

While you can watch the hour-long piece below, posted by Pantagraph.com<\/strong><\/span> after a public premiere at the Normal Theater<\/strong> in neighboring Normal<\/strong> on Tuesday, October 28<\/strong>, also consider reading Brady-Lunny\u2019s companion articles; links are aggregated at this dedicated Web page<\/span><\/a>. They include updates to topics broached in the video, particularly the establishment of a 14-bed crisis center<\/span><\/a> on Martin Luther King Drive<\/strong> in Bloomington to be managed by Chestnut Health Systems<\/strong>. Certainly, interview subjects appearing in SHORTCHANGED<\/strong> \u2013 including afflicted men and women who have found themselves caught in a wasteful system \u2013 intone a cautious optimism that long-term solutions can be found.<\/p>\n

After all, we are shortchanged when we continuously fail to be humane to our fellow human beings.<\/p>\n

~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n


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