An absurd scene recently turned tragic at a group home for the mentally ill in Houston.

Brian Claunch — in his 40s, schizophrenic, missing two limbs and wielding a felt tip pen — was shot and killed in his wheelchair by a police officer.

The police were responding to a call from frightened aides saying Claunch had become aggressive. Claunch had cornered one of the officers, making stabbing motions with the pen, when the other officer shot him from behind.

Claunch’s death is an extreme but poignant reminder about one of our forgotten populations. The mentally ill are second-class citizens, and doing anything to change that is a low priority for the government.

It’s easy to allow yourself to forget about it, too, because beginning in grade school, mentally ill children are segregated and hidden away. They aren’t seen, like African-Americans in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man”, “simply because people refuse to see [them].”

But the problem is not so small as you imagine.

About 22 percent of Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. That includes many illnesses that are still not widely viewed as medical problems, such as depression, addiction, attention deficit disorders and anxiety issues.

And somehow, this isn’t seen as a national issue.

Right now, mental health services are deputized to the states. And while some states have seen success in recent years, the nation is lagging overall.

Mental health programs are often the first to be cut when slashing budgets.

Louisiana has actually improved greatly in the past few years. Though the state cut mental health budgets when the recession began, it has worked since 2010 to improve mental health care for children.

The most difficult point of this problem is that there is no switch-flip solution. It’s not a matter of electing the right people or listening to one particular party.

Mental illness itself is not a problem to be fixed. It’s an ugly reality we have to deal with.

Any solutions we can make have to accept that reality and focus on giving the mentally ill the best possible quality of life.

That means sensible, evidence-based solutions that face the many problems mentally ill people may come across in everyday life.

Problems like recognizing mental illness, health insurance, finding jobs and dealing with the police.

The main problem facing the mentally ill today, as with the general population, is a financial one.

According to a Bazelon Center study, only 35.3 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are employed, and the rate is even lower among those served in mental health programs.

That’s exactly the opposite of how those statistics should look.

Local mental health programs established by states should focus on ensuring that people are able to get the medication and treatment they need, pay their medical bills and stay integrated into society.

This is where Louisiana’s new mental health efforts have shined.

The Coordinated System of Care was put into place to make it easier for at-risk youth to access mental health treatment while reducing the number of children placed into institutionalized care.

Studies have shown that children put into inpatient or residential facilities are far more likely to remain there for the rest of their lives.

We also need to change how we deal with the mentally ill, especially in law enforcement situations.

I don’t blame the police for Claunch’s death. The two officers were totally unprepared to deal with the situation, but only because no one had prepared them.

There should be police protocol for how to interact with suspects known to be mentally ill, or, in large cities where funding will allow, task forces for dealing with the mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

In a case like Claunch’s, the police will always prioritize public and police safety. But through training, officers can learn to handle situations like this better and get the suspects help they need.

Legislation should be trying to give these people, who we tend to ignore, the ability to live their own lives.

Let’s start by not shooting them in the back.