Homelessness and Mental Illness

Homelessness is a major social crisis in the United States of America. From 2014 to 2015, homelessness in America increased by 2 percent. The major sub-populations which comprise homeless people in America are unsheltered persons, families, chronically homeless people, and veterans (National Alliance to End Homelessness 3). In America, 15 percent of homeless people are defined as being chronically homeless, while 2 percent of homeless families are chronically homeless (ibid. 7). A person is defined as chronically homeless by the United States Government if they have been continually homeless for a year or more, or have experienced more than twelve months of homelessness in the last three years (Office

Homelessness as a result of deinstitutionalization in the US increased dramatically, tripling in 182 cities over the court of the 1980s (Bagenstos, 2012). In addition, mental health and substance abuse is a major problem in across the country because of homelessness. 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 (DMHAS, 2014). Consequently, mental illnesses disrupt people’s ability to carry out key aspects of daily life, such as self-care and household responsibilities. As a result of these factors and the stresses of living with a mental disorder, people with mentally illnesses are much more likely to become homeless than the general population (Karger, & Stoesz, 2014). Even if homeless individuals with mental illnesses are provided with housing, they are unlikely to achieve residential stability and remain off the streets unless they have access to continued treatment and services. In Connecticut there are a number of housing options that are in place like supportive housing. Research has shown that supported housing is effective for people with mental illnesses (DMHAS, 2014). Unfortunately, in Connecticut, lack of funding is a significant barrier to the successful implementation of supported housing programs. Because of homelessness people cycle between street corner, jail cell and hospital beds, in addition the homeless who are

The United States of America is the place known to many as the land of the free, home of the brave, and the place to start a better life. With any place that has good qualities, some have not so good qualities. The homeless population in the United States is at a staggering high, and many individuals are suffering because many lack employment/financial resources, housing resources, support from family and friends, and others negligence; such as natural disasters or fires. Homeless individuals may have no other choice than to live on the streets, trains, and alley ways to name a few places where homeless people seek shelter. The history of homelessness, social problems, demographics, common clinical

First, what is homelessness? This question has been up for debate for some time now. There is one general accepted definition of homelessness, due to the different types of homelessness the definition can vary. According to the government of this country homelessness, “is the condition of people without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment” (The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). When people who are not homeless see the less fortunate living outside in public areas they automatically know that the person does not have a “permanent dwelling”.

Homelessness is a prime concern for numerous countries across the globe, including the most advanced ones. Though the population of homeless people tends to be higher in developing countries, it is still a concern in developed nations. Homelessness is a state where someone lacks regular shelter. The term includes people who do not have a home and sleep on the streets, as well as those whose basic nighttime residence is a homeless shelter or other improvised form of housing. Such people lack the capacity to acquire or maintain sufficient nighttime shelter. Individuals and family units become homeless for many reasons. Assessing these causes can help to mitigate the issue.

Homelessness has been a problem in the United States for well over a hundred years. Major economic downturns have always had a large role in effecting the homeless population. However, the deinstitutionalization of the psychiatric hospitals in America has greatly increased the size of the mentally ill homeless population, particularly in large urban areas. This increase in homelessness among people with

Today, Homelessness in the US is becoming one of the top challenging issues to fix. Recent available data shows an increase the number of the homeless between 2014 and 2015. On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing Homelessness — meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program. From 2014 to 2015, a period of ongoing recovery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness decreased by 2.3 percent and Homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation: unsheltered persons (10 percent), families (2.7 percent), chronically Homeless individuals (2.5 percent), and veterans (10.5 percent). Yet a recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says homelessness decreased by nearly 4% over the past year.. The reports shows:

First and foremost, how do we defined a homeless person? According to National Health Care for the Homeless Council, homeless is defined as “an individual who lacks housing, including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in a transitional housing” (“definition of homelessness,” n.d.). It is important to recognize that homelessness is worldwide and social problem because it is directly affected by large social forces that affects individual’s social life. In a research made by Coalition for the homeless says that in December 2015, there were 60,096 homeless people in New York city, including 14,553 homeless families with 23, 885 homeless children. Moreover, this becomes a social problem, due in large part to structural inequality and it affects a wide variety of people that can range from those people experiencing eviction, unemployment, family relationship breakdown, domestic violence, health crises, poverty, mental illness and substance abuse. These reasons can be the precipitating factor in the onset of homelessness.

As of January 2017, it is estimated that there 553,742 people are homeless in America. To be homeless means to be without a home, living on the streets. Umpteen studies, the book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, as well as The Glass Castle movie, display the various leading factors building up to the plight of living without a home. Alcohol, mental illness, and poverty are a few known causes of homelessness.

When we start talking about the homeless population there are some key terms that we need to understand. The first of those terms is sheltered homeless people. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2014) defines sheltered homeless people as “individuals who are staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs or safe havens” (pg. 2). These would

Homelessness is a problem that happens in many different countries around the world. Definitions of homelessness are defined in different meanings by different people. However, the Stewart B. McKinney Act defines a homeless person as “ one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings” (McNamara 1025). It is impossible to find out exactly the number of homeless; however, the researchers can do a study to estimate that number. Based on different statistics from different researchers, the homeless population in America has been increasing as “an alarming rate” (Markos and Lima).

According to C. J. Carnacchio’s article, there are only around 300,000-600,000 homeless people in America, compared to the total population of 325.5 million. Only 15 percent of the homeless are homeless because of circumstances they could not control (Carnacchio, 2002). Carnacchio’s article also states that one of the most common reasons for homelessness is that

Homelessness has always been growing across communities in the United States, and many struggle from it as they are people who are lacking in funds, causing them to be without a home. Today, homelessness among individuals is becoming more common and is unfortunately spreading all over the world. Most home owning people are unaware of the actuality of the conditions that the homeless people reside in and many cannot comprehend the troubles and hardships they face just to keep themselves alive. Most homeless people are known to reside in abandoned buildings, buses, cars, street corners and in many community parks. Most homeless people can barely afford to eat every day and to survive many live on the scraps and leftovers from others. Homelessness is defined as someone who cannot afford to pay for housing without depriving themselves of the essentials needed in life. People who become homeless do not all necessarily live on streets, but many “homeless people in our modern society stay with friends, relatives and even in shelters as they cannot afford to live on their own” (Espejo 28).

In January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States. Of that number, 206,286 were people in families, and 358,422 were individuals. About 15 percent of the homeless population - 83,170 - are considered "chronically homeless” individuals. (National Alliance to End Homelessness). According to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, “A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation”. Homelessness has been a constant problem throughout history, so it is not something that just popped out of nowhere. Throughout history,

Homelessness can be defined as the lack of a permanent, safe and affordable night-time residence. The exact statistics on homelessness are difficult to ascertain, as the precise number of people who experience homelessness is ever changing. Recently it's been estimated that about 1.6 million are people living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (2012) estimated the annual homeless population to be roughly 3.5 million people. Of these 1.35 million are children. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families with children.