As she watched her son's mental health deteriorate, Deborah Smith pleaded to petition for conservatorship so he could be placed under involuntary treatment. One hospital after another declined.
The life of a 31-year-old living with schizophrenia illustrates the toll of illness and the challenge of getting severely mentally ill people off the streets.
The 49-year-old nurse was approaching the hospital as he was starting his overnight shift when he was stabbed multiple times in the neck and wounded in his right hand.