The Soloist - One Size Does not Fit All (Issue of Homelessness in LA)

In a nutshell, this movie talks bout a schizophrenic person who has great talent in music from childhood, went on to excel in the music performing scene but somehow landed himself in the streets of the Greater Los Angeles.

I won't be posting the entire synopsis here as not to spoil the what nots for those who intend to view the film.

Basically, few points impacted me so much that I just got to get here and put my 'pen' to writing again.

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  We all need to expose ourselves more to mental illnesses, including but not limited to schizophrenia, the illness at the core focus of this film. Too many have gone undiagnosed and therefore not being treated - as a result many have deteriorated to the point of being unable to function normally from day to day.
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  Los Angeles has more homeless people than a few other states in the US combined.
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  As the story progresses, I pity very much on the main character, Mr. Ayers - as when he first experience symptoms of schizophrenia, there was no one to tell him that he was having it. He did not know on him being schizophrenic himself, and he went untreated for many many years. 20 plus years or even more perhaps.
  
  I have a family member who suffers from schizophrenia, that just within 2 years of being undiagnosed, this particular person deteriorated so much back then, that those around her does not feel safe to be staying with her no more. I can't begin to imagine 20 plus years of undiagnosed schizo case.
  
  
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  If only Mr. Ayers somehow had treatment for himself earlier on, he would have succeed in the music line without succumbing all the way to his illness. This saddens my heart to a certain degree as I play music too, so I could relate in a way.
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  It costs cheaper (roughly 16K US dollars per annum for a homeless person) to give the homeless people in the LA a proper home and facilities, than trying to do anything else with them.
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  Kudos to those people in an NGO in LA, i.e. LAMP which has dedicated volunteers continuosly helping out the homeless people by providing them shelter and almost everything else, including facilitation to relocate those people to proper apartments and all.
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  I must personally salute Mr. Lopez, the guy who brought Mr. Ayers and thus the issue of the homelessness to the public media - raising much attention and invoking actions to be taken to counter this serious problem in LA.
  
  

Then again, when I look at my own country, Malaysia - don't think there's any plan in place whatsoever to address the needs and to help these kind of people. Now, that's something this film brings my mind to, come to think bout it. Hmm.