Meet the Journalist: John Yang

An estimated 2 million people suffering from mental illness are booked into county jails annually. John Yang, national correspondent for PBS NewsHour, follows this story from the courtrooms to the streets, where a police crisis intervention team is trying to help the mentally ill before they are arrested. The PBS NewsHour team also travels to the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center and to an ER where too many have ended up in the past. While those who have been helped have compelling stories to share, the programs still have to prove their success statistically in order to maintain funding.