There are inpatient mental hospitals in the US, but they are intended for short-term recovery, not long-term institutionalization. Couple that with health care

There are inpatient mental hospitals in the US, but they are intended for short-term recovery, not long-term institutionalization. Couple that with health care usually being tied to employment (and not being that great to begin with), it is not a good situation. There are social workers (who are massively underpaid and overworked) that attempt to work with patients to ensure housing and outpatient care, but if the patient doesn't have a support system, they are essentially screwed. Politicians don't care because the mentally ill are a small and unreliable voting bloc. Shame on the rest of us for allowing this to go on...