In The Fifth Branch, Tradeoffs explored new ways to respond to people in a mental health crisis, this week we have look at another area of the mental health crisis the country is grappling with. 'Lost Patients', a new podcast from KUOW and The Seattle Times, dives into why so many people with mental illness live on the streets, and lack long-term care.

Heidi Aurand has watched her son Adam spiral from one psychiatric crisis to the next for about eight years, bouncing between emergency rooms, jails, and homelessness. Now, after treatment at the state's largest psychiatric hospital, Adam was just released back onto the streets of downtown Seattle. A mother asks: How could her son pass through so many institutions and none are able to stop his decline?

Learn more and read a full transcript on our website.

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