. >> reporter: gail davis is 52 years old and lives on chicago's south side. every day she prepares lunch for her 82 year old mother who suffered a stroke. gail is her mom's primary caregiver, yet gail herself has struggled for decades with mental illness. >> i was like that i guess before when i come into the world i guess. i didn't match up, and i didn't seem to blend in with society, what society says what the world says this is what you have to be and do. >> reporter: for years, anger, depression, and anxiety all kept gail from holding a job. and she didn't have health insurance. that meant that for much of her life, except a few emergency room visits, gail's mental conditions went untreated. >> people with serious mental illnesses generally don't show up to the doctor's office. they don't make medical appointments and psychiatric appointments. >> reporter: that's mark ishaug- - he runs thresholds, chicago's largest nonprofit mental health provider. he says gail's story isn't unique among the millions of low-income, uninsured americans with mental illness.