My name is Chloe Trofatter and I'm a master's student at Michigan State University's School of Journalism.
Born in Cadillac, Mich. and raised in Lake City, this project comes from the all-too-common reality of substance use, mental illness, and severe lack of resources for both for people in my area. I know it's a problem because I lived it.
I was called back to the topic for a Capital News Service assignment in 2021 and I knew then that there was a larger story to be told here. The conversation around mass incarceration isn't new, but I believe there is a lack of understanding in the differences and how they operate in small community facilities versus state prisons and city jails.
My goal with "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" is to begin to showcase those differences and how they need to be recognized for effective reform.