Mental Illness In The Homeless Community

The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with a failed continuum of care plans and a lack of community mental health services have been major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness. In many cases, only the critically ill are meeting clinical criteria for hospitalization, leaving those who have significant mental health problems to fend for themselves. The link between homelessness and mental health is acknowledged but requires reform.

In the United States the homeless population continues to grow rapidly. Homelessness has been a public health issue for many decades. Often times these individuals feel as though society has turned a blind eye to them. This at risk population is seen by society as lazy or chose to live a life on the streets, but if one would examine this population closely would see that there is more to this at risk population than what society has labeled them as. The forces, which affect homelessness, are multifaceted. Social forces such as family breakdown, addictions, and mental illnesses are in combined with structural forces such as lack of low-cost housing, insufficient health services, and poor economic conditions. Many would

Seeing homelessness develop is a process that the older generation can say they have been apart of. The young generation, on the other hand, cannot say they have seen the development of homelessness. People who are thirty years old or younger have grown up believing that homelessness was always part of the landscape. The younger generation has come to believe that there have always been homeless people sitting on park benches. When an individual is asked what they see most in a large city like Chicago or New York, ‘homeless people’ is a common response. According to the United States Census Bureau, 320.8 million individuals currently live in the United States of America. Imagine the proportion of individuals that do not own a car or even a house to live in. The National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty did studied to conclude that in America more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. Those concerned with the issue of homelessness are curious as to what events had to have happened that lead to the individuals living on the streets. The reasons are different for each and every person. Some of the more major issues that contribute to this are lack of affordable housing, declining welfare assistance, and most importantly, mental illness. Resolving the issue of homelessness is very possible with new ways of housing and treatment for the mentally ill. The relation between the homeless and the mental illness has risen, and the United States as a whole

Mental illness has played a pretty big role on homeless people and families. Researchers have said that most homeless people across the United States suffer from a mental illness. In the book The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls, there were multiple signs of mental illness within the author's parents. Homelessness can be caused by many reasons, but one of the main reasons for homelessness is mental illness. It is very likely that a person could have a mental illness before becoming homeless.

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

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

The issue my team chose to research and tackle was homelessness in the Ozarks. Specifically, we wanted to look at the demographics of the issue and then ultimately we wanted to look into the effects the issue of homelessness is having on another serious issue, mental illness, and vice versa. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines homelessness as one having no home or permanent place of residence. It defines mental illness as any of a broad range of medical conditions that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning. Some of the examples of mental illnesses given by Merriam-Webster are major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or panic disorder. The main aspects of the issue that will be covered are the current status of the issue, the causes, current organizations involved in finding solutions, and what more needs to be done.

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.

A Pathways Project study found that two out of three homeless people in the country suffer from a form of chronic mental illness for which they need treatment (Wells, 2009). Secondly, socioeconomic adversity includes shortages such as low education, job loss, and eviction (Bradford, 2009). Lastly, traumatic experiences such as domestic violence causing psychological trauma are a predisposition to homelessness (Bradford, 2009).

Your research question into homeless women and mental illness is critical and most definitely deserves more research. My friends and i have been providing care packages to homeless women for the past two years. We have noticed an increase in homeless women with mental illness, in addition, we recognized that homeless women face more challenges than men. For example, not having the necessary items during their menstrual time, and sexual assault. Great topic wish you the best.

Homelessness typically becomes more prevalent in times of economic downturn or turmoil. However, according to the District of Columbia’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (DCICH), homelessness rates have been on the rise due to a variety of socioeconomic factors. These factors include rising income inequality, lack of affordable housing, depression of wages and public assistance programs, and the lack of mental health institutions that assist with the chronically homeless (Homeward D.C., 2015).

Understanding how both individual and structural factors contribute to and sustain homelessness is a critical factor in successfully addressing homelessness. All to often service providers blame homeless individuals for the circumstances they are in, making assumptions that substance abuse or other irresponsible behaviors have caused the problems leading to the individual to become homeless. Hoffman and Coffey (2008) suggest, “the perpetuation of homelessness is not internal to the homeless individual as many claim, but rather may be embedded in the service industry itself, which subjects both clients and providers to bureaucratic forms of authority and experiences of disrespect.” While not all homeless people suffer from mental illness or substance abuse, all of

A 2008 survey by the U.S Conference of Mayors in 25 cities stated that mental illness was the third cause of homelessness (“Coalition for the Homeless”).Then need for more outreach programs grows as the homeless and mental illness in communities grow (“Coalition for the Homeless”). The success of outreach programs depend on establishing a relationship of trust by maintaining contact with the client.

According to Treatment Advocacy Center (2016), approximately one-third of the homeless population have some degree of mental disorder, untreated mental illnesses, and physical health issues. Many of these homeless population spend their life living on the streets. Such as living in train stations and any place that provides a shelter, which worsens their condition. This is due to the lack of adequate hospitals to care for the community. In addition, the closing of state mental institutions does not provide the homeless community with a location to benefit them. The topic of the increase in the homeless community continues to become a highly talkative topic. By looking at the social issues among the topic of health within the homeless community,

What I specifically would want to occur out of the issue of homeless youth with mental disorders is to see the statistical numbers drop, instead of increase. There are four critical components that when integrated into programs to serve homeless youth with mental health issue, can be effective. These four components are prevention, outreach, transitional housing, and reintegration. Before homelessness, there are signs that may be present that could prevent the issue from occurring. Schools, family members, authorities, and others should be paying attention to youth’s actions and behaviors. When there are signs of neglect, abuse, or unstable mental health; aiding or seeking assistance to help that individual may prevent a future occurrence