HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — At first glance, family photos can show a family dynamic and the bond between siblings.

As a child, Patrisse Cullors saw her older brother Monte Cullors as one of her closest friends.  

“He was always just like the life of the party. He was always a really good listener and then as we got older and as he got older, there was just notables signs of something happening,” Cullors said.

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Years later, her relationship with her brother began to take a different role.

At 19, Monte was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a chronic mental illness that can include symptoms of hallucinations and depression. Through the years, his illness led him to incarceration and homelessness.

“That was really hard to deal with and hard to see him suffer and struggle, but what was more difficult was that there was no help. The only intervention was jail,” Cullors said.

A snapshot of Monte’s mental health journey was shared in the film Bedlam, which aims to highlight the mental health crisis in Los Angeles and the current status of resources available.

Bedlam follows Dr. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg’s book of the same title and features interviews with mental health experts, patients, and families.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about two million people with a mental illness are booked into jails each year. Dr. Rosenberg, a psychiatrist and the director of the film, said the three largest mental health institutions in the United States are the country’s three largest jails. 

“We have two to three percent of the beds per capita for people with serious mental illness that we had in 1955. Mental illness has not exactly gone away. So, I think we need resources, community treatments, psychiatric care beds, emergency facilities,” Dr. Rosenberg said.

Monte’s mental health journey continues to leave an impact on Cullors.

In hopes of inspiring change in how society sees and treats individuals experiencing a mental illness, Cullors co-founded Black Lives Matter and founded the Vote Yes on Measure R campaign aimed at reforming Los Angeles jails and creating more police oversight. 

“Fighting for my brother is like fighting for me. It’s like fighting for my family and so as long as he needs the care and support. I will be there for him,” Cullors said.

It's a battle she hopes will champion change and treatment for anyone struggling with a mental illness.

Bedlam will be airing on PBS on April 13.