Chicagoans protest for mental health services

Advocates for mental health services in Chicago held a vigil outside the Cook County Jail on Monday, drawing attention to the lack of support for the jail's mentally ill inmates and the repercussions of the 2012 closure of six of the city's 12 mental health clinics. The prison is the state's largest mental health care provider.
 
Protests were organized by the STOP Chicago Mental Health Movement, which has appealed to the city's health department to join a provider network in order to give unbroken service to Medicaid recipients.

Participants included current and former patients of the mental health clinics and policy experts. Many held signs as members of the community spoke and prayed: