Juli Leonard, 31, has been at The News & Observer since 2004. Her work varies from a food shot at a local restaurant to exploring youth culture through her photo column, Metamorphosis, to covering breaking news.

Travis Long, 30, has been with The N&O since 2003. He films and produces video stories, which can be seen at newsobserver.com. Several of his recent videos have been honored by the National Press Photographers Association.

For this series, they spent time at all four state psychiatric hospitals and worked with victims of abuse and the families of patients who died.