We have all been affected by serious mental illness

The Star begins a series on mental illness today. Reporters examine what is available - and what is missing - in resources for people with serious mental illness, their families and loved ones. It's a conflicted picture, because the potential for what a person can do with the right balance o…

Why don't we help those with mental illness?

It's the question every Tucsonan has asked since Jan. 8: Accused shooter Jared Lee Loughner showed so many signs of mental illness, but apparently didn't seek help and wasn't forced into treatment. Why not?

'I know what it's like to lay in bed and want to die'

For some Tucsonans touched by the tragedy of Jan. 8, sorrow was tinged with a sense of dread.

Mom's dark spells left kids in house of chaos

Now that my mother is dead, our relationship is the best it's ever been.

Students with mental illness teach the teacher

Dr. Randa Kutob spends much of her time teaching future doctors at the University of Arizona. Across town in another classroom, a different group of students is teaching her.

Mental-health resource guide

About serious mental illness

Photo gallery: Famous people who have struggled with mental illness

Mental health struggles are not limited to a single class of people.

Strong treatment law no longer enforced

Arizona’s law on treating people with serious mental illness is strong — on paper.

AZ cuts left woman to struggle on own

On the morning of Jan. 8 - as Tucson was stunned by a mass shooting that killed six people and injured 13 - 40-year-old Monica Stefanov lay dying of an overdose inside a Sierra Vista home.

Law supports those who seek aid for others, but it's not easy

Yes, the 18-year-old man acknowledged, he did turn off his mother's car while she was driving it. "There was a dog running behind us - that's what I thought," he told a judge in a small Pima County courtroom on the fifth floor of UPH Hospital at Kino.

Shortage of psychiatrists means less in-person care

A shortage of psychiatrists in Arizona means people with mental illnesses are getting less in-person care than they sometimes need.

Treatment comes easier for those at poverty level

When it comes to getting treatment for a serious mental illness, many Tucsonans would be better off being destitute. Fewer than half of the 765,000 or so working-age adults in Pima County have employer-provided medical benefits, census data show.

Public forum on mental health

A free, public forum, "A Delicate Balance: Creating a better, post-Jan. 8 system to protect the public and help the seriously mentally ill," will be held April 27 at Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus.

Tweets about mental health

Nicholas Breitborde, UA assistant professor of psychiatry, will lead a panel of local and national experts at "A Delicate Balance: Creating a Better Post-Jan. 8 System to Protect the Public and Help the Seriously Mentally Ill," a free, public forum at Centennial Hall on April 27, 2011, at 1:…