Our broken system

Thomasi McDonald’s Jan. 11 column “A rainy encounter in Raleigh” carved out and dissected the psychobiography of a group of citizens, the homeless, our fellow humans, with a sharp and precise psychological scalpel. The piece is worthy of a Pulitzer.

As a psychiatrist, in the hours I spend with clinic patients afflicted with addiction and mental illness, I see so many who would swap their freedom for prison’s board and room. We know that 90 percent of prison and jail population are afflicted with mental illness. It is a shame that in our society the best place to get any help for the mentally ill is the prison.

We do need to repair our broken-down system of mental health care

Assad Meymandi, M.D., Raleigh