Why does a gifted musician wind up living on the streets of LA? Should a caring society allow this to happen?

Nathaniel Ayers, the man with schizophrenia portrayed in this film, is just one of the countless men and women who suffer from schizophrenia. Many of them, like Mr. Ayers, receive no treatment at all. According to the World Health Organization, more than 50% of people with schizophrenia do not get treatment.

Despite our advances in knowledge, treatment and our nations' wealth, the mentally ill of many western countries are not faring as well as they might have in 1960 or 1970.

Many with schizophrenia - a disease of the brain - live on the streets or end up in jail. "More Americans receive mental health treatment in prisons and jails than hospitals or treatment centers. In fact, the country's largest psychiatric facility isn't even a hospital. It's a prison - New York City's Rikers Island which holds an estimated 3,000 mentally ill inmates at any given time."

That is a quote from Judge Steve Leifman of Miami in the book "Schizophrenia: Medicine's Mystery - Society's Shame" by Marvin Ross.

Another quote in the book from an official with the National Alliance on Mental Illness points out that "treatment has never been better for mental illness, but it has never been harder for those in need to get it."

While people are enjoying the story of the friendship between Mr Ayers and Steve Lopez as depicted in this film, they will hopefully be motivated to learn more about this dreaded disease, its causes and treatments and how they and society can do more for its victims and their families.

There are many good books on the topic including "Schizophrenia: Medicine's Mystery Society's Shame which is recommended by the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders.

Another film that accurately portrays a young man's descent into schizophrenia is the feature "Cutting for Stone" written and directed by David Laing Dawson and available for purchase or on demand from Amazon