Homeless and Mental Illness
The Homeless in the community are in need of our help. Prior to the 1960’s people with mental illness were involuntary admitted to state psychiatric hospitals. Eventually un-necessary hospitalization ceased with the development of medication to control symptoms. The growing practice was that a person was not to be involuntarily admitted unless they posed a threat to themselves or others. Gradually people were being discharged from the hospitals but were not provided with the follow up community based programs they needed therefore these people ended up living on the streets.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20-25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of mental illness. In 2008 mental illness was the third largest cause of homelessness in adults. Research has shown the homeless with a mental illness suffer mostly from severe, chronic depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schoaffective disorders, and severe personality disorders.
Forty percent of the homeless population is families with children; most of these are run by a single woman. Research has shown that 84% of these mothers have been severely assaulted at some point in their lives resulting in a higher probability their children will have mental health problems. These mental illnesses disrupt peoples’ ability to carry out essential daily tasks such as personal hygiene, household management, and creating and maintaining stable interpersonal relationships.
In addition to having a mental illness, some of these people have substance abuse problems. These people self medicate with street drugs which lead to disease from intravenous injections. This combination of mental illness, poor physical health, and substance abuse makes it very hard for people to obtain employment and a stable residence.
Studies have shown that even if homeless individuals with mental illnesses are provided with housing they will not be able to keep that home without continual treatment and services. Supported housing programs were created to provide the care needed to get these people back on their feet. Included are mental health treatment, physical health care, education and employment opportunities, peer support, daily living and money management skills trainings. In order to reduce the amount of homeless people with mental illnesses we need to have more continual treatment available to them.
