Essay On Untreated Mental Illness

Mental illness alone can be devastating to anyone who has it, but when it is also paired with being homeless, the results are catastrophic. “According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness. In comparison, only 6% of Americans are severely mentally ill” (“Mental Illness and Homelessness”). If the early symptoms of a mental illness are discovered quick enough, the effects can drastically be minimized and controlled through medication, therapy, and knowledge of the illness. Since most Americans are fortunate to already have this outlet of medical services readily available at their disposal, their mental illness

Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem.

The incarceration of those who are mentally ill is on the continual rise. Many states juggle with the decision of placing offenders in Mental Hospital or locating them in State Prisons. Latessa and Holsinger (2011) discuss two major reasons for the increase of those with mental illness within the prison system. First, many states have no longer allow for the insanity plea during criminal trials, thus those who suffer from mental illness are not required to receive mandatory mental treatment. This is due to the discomforting idea that criminal offenders should not be given the same living conditions as those whom are patients of mental wards. Secondly, longer sentences have created a surplus of mentally ill offenders needing treatment. Soderstrom (2007) added that the lack of mental health support systems in

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, approximately 564,708 people were homeless on a single night in January of 2015 in the United States (“The State of Homelessness in 2016”). It is estimated that 250,000 people who suffer from Mental Health illnesses are homeless (Torrey). Providing affordable housing, and access to mental health services for the homeless population are essential components to end the homeless epidemic.

The United States criminal justice system has been continuously increasing incarceration among individuals who suffer from a sever mental illness. As of 2007 individuals with severe mental illness were over twice as likely to be found in prisons than in society (National Commission of Correctional Health Care, 2002, as cited in Litschge &Vaughn, 2009). The offenses that lead to their commitment in a criminal facility, in the majority of cases, derive from symptoms of their mental illness instead of deviant behavior. Our criminal justice system is failing those who would benefit more from the care of a psychiatric rehabilitation facility or psychiatric hospital by placing them in correctional facilities or prisons.

How many people are homeless in the United States, why are they homeless, and what percentage of homeless people are negatively impacted by mental illness? These issues will be presented in this paper.

The problems of homelessness and mental illness are inextricably intertwined. One way that mental illness impacts people's lives is that it oftentimes renders them unable to carry out the functions of daily life, such as keeping a job, paying their bills, and managing a household. In addition to disrupting the events of daily life, mental illness "may also prevent people from forming and maintaining stable relationships or cause people to misinterpret others' guidance and react irrationally" (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). What this means is that a population that is already vulnerable because of an inability to consistently manage self-care lacks the same safety net as much of the rest of society.

As known the increase of homelessness in America is increasing. Not only that, mental illness within the homeless communities and the homeless in general is around one-third of the percentage of the homeless population. The mental illnesses one can have, has severe consequences. People who are homeless and have a mental illness are not able to carry out daily routines. They may also have trouble building or maintaining stable relationships. The mental illness causes people to misunderstand others guidance which causes them to react mentally. This results in pushing away anyone that cares for them; including family, friends, or even care givers. Mental health could result in poor physical health, especially for homeless people. The mental illness can cause people to neglect necessary precautions against disease. When improper hygiene is added to this, respiratory problems, skin disease, and exposer to tuberculosis or HIV can occur. Half of the homeless who are mentally ill, abuse

“While they make up a small share of the homeless population, they are disproportionately costly to society: They consume nearly 60 percent of the resources spent on emergency and transitional shelter for adults, and they occupy hospitals and jails at high rates.” (Culhane, 2010) Additionally, this small population is very visible and thus creates the perception that most homeless are mentally unstable.

Fewer people are being institutionalized and treated for their illnesses, meaning they are often unable to work or take adequate care of themselves. These individuals are left with one viable option: to live on the streets. Not only does neglect to receive care contribute to the “chronic” homeless issue in America, but the tighter housing markets add to the inability to afford low-income housing (Quigley and Steven 333). Often times these individuals are on a government supplemented income or no income at all. Even with the aid, low-income housing is either unavailable or still unaffordable. Quigley and Steven believe that “homelessness can be reduced by attention to the better functioning of housing markets.” In order to get Americans off the streets, there will need to be a drive for more institutionalization of mentally-ill individuals and additional lower income housing

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it has been estimated that 40 percent of adults with Schizophrenia and 51 percent of adults with severe Bipolar disorder receive no treatment within a one year period (2016). These staggering statistics are surmounted by the 20-25 percent of the American population that are homeless (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2009). These alarming statistics illustrate the need to address the social problem of mental health and homelessness and the need to develop programs to combat this epidemic. There are many factors that contribute to this social problem, such as the lack of funding that is appropriated to assist those with severe mental health diagnosis. Serious mental illnesses

Studies show that mental illness in the homeless population is twice what it is in the rest of society (American Psychological Association). Instead of criminalizing this population, the American public needs to lend a hand in finding solutions for this population (see Figure1, questions 4, 5). Co-opting services to cause them to become easily accessible to the homeless population has the chance to increase success. Instead of punishing these individuals, services should be continued, not banned. Punishing those trying to aid the homeless, and the homeless themselves is not the answer to the rise in homelessness seen in America (Briggs). Improving healthcare standards for mental health can also help those in the homeless population who need assistance learning to manage their mental health symptoms, and allow them to be productive members of

Homelessness is a pending social problem that has been escalating over the past few decades. Efforts by different governments across the world to solve the problem have not been successful in dealing with homelessness (Atherton and Nicholls 96). Homelessness causes might be poverty, sex abuse, mental disorders, unemployment, and increased rental rates. Long-lasting homelessness is believed to be the major cause of other social problems such as poor health, sex abuse, and illiteracy among the affected individuals (Tompsett et al. 50). The amount of money governments are providing for homeless healthcare services is high and if the issue continued to grow, it might affect the world’s economy in the near future. This paper talks about the issue

Homelessness damages people’s possibility and capability of motivation and it can bring emotional health problems such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A study reveals that 20-25% of homeless people, compared with 6% of the non-homeless, have severe mental illness. (National Coalition,2009). This situation causes even more harm for women as the researchers found homeless women are more likely to need support for mental health problems than men. (St Mungo’s ,2016). This situation can lead more homeless people to be alcoholics and have a high dependency on drugs. Accounting for just over a third of all homelessness deaths is an abuse of drugs and alcohol. (Homelessness:

Mental illness is one of a major cause of homelessness is the lack of community mental health care facilities available due to the “deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill which began in 1965” (Eliot 115). The belief that many chronically mentally ill people were capable of living in community residential facilities or on their own with the support of community mental health centers initiated broad deinstitutionalization policies.