Blanca Jimenez held onto a railing and pulled herself up a flight of stairs a few days after undergoing back surgery to check on her jailed bipolar son. Her son had wiggled his way out of being committed in the past. Jimenez hoped his arrest meant he would finally get the help he needed.

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Before getting into the back of a patrol car for the first time in her adult life, Tina Goodner took a drag from her cigarette. Exhaling a rich plume of smoke calmed her nerves.

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Terry Turner paced in his Victoria apartment. He heard voices. He thought of suicide.

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In a white jump suit, a son clung to a phone and rattled off all the things he wished he would have said to his mother.

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The jurors weren’t supposed to think about whether the defendant’s untreated schizoaffective disorder caused him to aim a loaded, .22-caliber rifle at his parents during an argument and threaten to pull the trigger.

But it was all they could think about.

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Growing up, the Shelton twins shared most everything in life. Now, they’re separated by Tyler Shelton’s mental illness and the walls of the Victoria County Jail.

Tyler is among 2 million people with mental illness who are booked into jails every year, despite their families’ best efforts to get them treatment beforehand.

His arrest came despite the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office leading an 18-month effort to stop this trend.

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• Forum starts critical conversations about mental health (Nov. 7, 2015)
  
• Mentally ill deserve care, not jail (June 4, 2016)
  
• Broken mental health care system can be fixed (July 16, 2016)
  
• Talking about mental illness helps society (Aug. 20, 2016)
  
• More officers need training to help mentally ill (Sept. 17, 2016)
  
• Let’s talk about mental health (Nov. 2, 2016)
  
• U.S. fails mentally ill, those with drug problem (Dec. 4, 2016)
• Small steps add up to help mentally ill (Feb. 12, 2017)
  
• Mental health court offers hope (April 9, 2017)
• Center's closure offers lesson for residents (April 26, 2017)
• Gulf Bend Center expands mental health services (May 30, 2017)
• He could be your son or brother (Jan. 6, 2018)

• Community forum focuses on need for better care (Oct. 27, 2015)
  
• Veterinarian watches helplessly as son breaks down (May 28, 2016)
  
• Mental health center tries cutting psychiatrist wait time (June 4, 2016)
  
• Psychiatrist recalls providing better care (July 16, 2016)
  
• Driving mentally ill to treatment elsewhere costly (July 16, 2016)
  
• Mental health unit sees less-severe patients longer (July 16, 2016)
  
• Bipolar disorder leads florist to help others (August 14, 2016)
  
• Leaders share, discuss approaches to mental health treatment (Aug. 19, 2016)
  
• Small departments lack funding for training (September 11, 2016)
  
• Victoria hospital unit for mentally ill closes (Sept. 21, 2016)
  
• $10 million mental health plan proposed (Oct. 9, 2016)
  
• Organizations fill gap in Crossroads mental health care (Oct. 15, 2016)
  
• Student finds mental health resources after assault (Oct. 15, 2016)
  
• Funding tight as Crossroads pitches mental health plan (Oct. 12, 2016)
  
• Psychiatric nurse fills gap in care (Dec. 4, 2016)
  
• Houses passes bill to treat addiction, mental health (Dec. 4, 2016)
  
• Commissioners agree to privatize medical services at jail (Dec. 19, 2016)
  
• Bill prohibits open carry in mental health facilities (Dec. 29, 2016)
  
• Decades-old case pending due to mental illness (Jan. 22, 2017)
• Victoria judge helped shape mental health law (Jan. 22, 2017)
• Crossroads leaders ask for mental health funding (Jan. 23, 2017)
• Local mental health group closer to funding goal (March 17, 2017)
• Former Gulf Bend executive charged with misusing funds (March 19, 2017)
• Mental health officer program to start (March 28, 2017)
• Future of Gulf Bend criminal case uncertain (April 1, 2017)
• Midland's mental health court facilitates treatment (April 9, 2017)
• Officials: Mental health officer program already successful (May 24, 2017)
• Legislature prioritizes mental health care over incarceration (June 3, 2017)
• Even with recent reforms, mental illness still criminalized (June 30, 2017)
• Small town tries solving its own problems (Oct. 10, 2017)
• Victoria teen caught in clogged mental health system (Dec. 3, 2017)
• Mental health navigator gets axed, reasons unclear (Jan. 20, 2018)