How 'deinstitutionalization' changed the face of mental health care in Washington state

In the 1970s, Washington shut down Northern State, one of three psychiatric hospitals in the state. The move was part of a plan to deinstitutionalize our mental health system. Instead of treating people out-of-sight in central facilities, care would be provided at clinics within the communities people already lived in.

At least that was the plan.

But the resources to effectively care for people in local communities never really materialized.

That’s one of the frustrating conundrums we hear about in the fourth episode of Lost Patients, a podcast from KUOW and The Seattle Times.

Throughout the show, host Will James sets out to explore why so many people with severe mental illness go untreated in Washington state.

Reporter Sydney Brownstone joins him on that journey, describing her own reporting on Northern State, as well as her search for the hospital’s lost patients: people who were released when Northern State was shut down.

She joined Soundside to talk about how this research and show has changed her perspective on homelessness in Washington — and what she learned from her search for Northern Hospital’s lost patients.

You can listen to Soundside's entire conversation with Seattle Times' Sydney Brownstone by clicking the play button above.