Mindfulness And Homelessness

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.

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 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.

b. We are most likely to think that since that student comes in late they are not responsible enough to study and since they are not organized they must not have organized their life to studied either. Our observations can be misleading because they provide a limited range of circumstances.

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.

Imagine a man on the streets, who society has forgotten. This man emits the smell of garbage; he has not bathed in months. This man sits quietly mumbling to himself. To the outer world he is just one of the many homeless, but little does society know that this man has a mental illness as well. Homelessness and mental illness are linked. These two happenings have similar beginnings. Homelessness is influenced by drug and alcohol disuse, being homeless at a young age, money problems, and trauma symptoms. Mental illness is caused by many of the same things, but it can also happen at birth. The effects that each entity has on a person are comparable. Rehabilitation is a necessary process if a victim of homelessness and or mental illness wants

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.

Throughout life we take on many different perspectives. As we grow older our perspective on life changes. From the teetering world of a toddler to the unfair, my-parents-hate-me reality of a teenager our perspectives change. My perspective on homeless people began at age 10 but shifted radically at the age of 13.

It makes your heart very limp to see our communities, states and countries economic standing, at the present moment. The unruly fashion at which we go about our social classes sickens me. A little less than half of the US population is and always will be struggling citizens, if we don't choose to help. Attempting to feed their children (let alone themselves), being at suffocating jobs they don’t even like, attempting to have the best life they can on food stamps and hand-me-downs. Throughout my years I usually you see working class families, working towards paying bills and feeding children. Seeing homeless strugglers of food on the street, is an everyday occurrence. Just goes to show that something isn’t right here. I think it is agreed upon by leaders, people of working class, and starving children that there needs to be a change. A change of people struggling everyday life, for picking their jobs over their families, and the struggles of choosing whether to do one important issue to the next. All the taxes, low paying jobs, and high prices on everyday necessities are getting too extreme, and I have

Homelessness is increasing every year and about a quarter of all homeless people suffer from mental health issues. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through on a daily basis while being homeless. He describes how and what foods you should look for and to always be conscious of what you are getting because there is always a reason why something was thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheet and papers. Things that can keep you busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. “I began dumpster diving about a year before I became homeless”

30 to 40 percent of single chronically homeless adults have a mental illness (Culhane). The majority of the mentally ill homeless population consist of those who struggle with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or manic-depression (Torrey). There are about 250,00 people living on the streets that struggle with a severe mental illness. The numbers continue to raise after the initial climb in the 1970's. More and more mentally ill are found chronically homeless each year. Many of the symptoms of mental illness inhibit people from normal day activities and relationships (Mojtabai).

According to a study of Mental Disorders among the Homeless, there are around 740,000 individual’s homeless in the United States alone at any given night. Homelessness is everywhere, yet it is unseen. And yet at the same time American’s everywhere often take what they have for granted, especially the roof over their heads. Anna Quindlen discusses these issues in her article “Homeless”. She writes about a woman she met at a bus terminal one day. The woman‘s bag and raincoat were covered in grime, her name was Ann, and she was homeless. Suddenly, it is then when Quindlen writes that to her, the world’s worse problem is how many people are living without homes. She often emphasizes throughout her essay how home is more than just a simply a house- it’s a place woven with memories, a place of certainty. “That is everything”, she writes. Quindlen also goes on to write that our home is something we’ve been taking for granted in recent days, and stresses that the homeless should be viewed as a collection of individuals with no homes, instead of blemish on society. I agree with Quindlen. Society often view the homeless as a collection of “crazy” people who are there of their own mistakes. Instead of shaming those who are forced to live on the streets, we should be trying to better understand why these people are homeless.

In the 2008 survey by the U.S Conferences of Mayors, mental illness was cited as the third largest cause of homelessness with 48% of cities reporting this fact (The United States Conference of Mayors, 2008). Mental illnesses are medical conditions that primarily affect the functioning of the mind mental illness affects an individual’s mood, emotions and their thought processes. The most common form of mental illness within the homeless community is depressive disorders, constituting nearly 25% of the mentally ill population within the homeless population. Depression causes low self esteem, a loss of interest in activities once found enjoyable and has an incapacitating affect on the individual’s ability to relate to others (National Institute

Spirituality as strength: Many women that have experience homelessness realize that when faced with life's adversities such as homelessness the women knows that spirituality a belief system will help her. Her faith in God will sustain her and she will regain the strength needed from God, the religious belief of knowing that when all “material things are gone” the consumer will lean on God or a higher power to have a better life in the future. Faith/spirituality in God, is always available during all of life's hardships; and through this journey it will lead to a resilience and a determination to move pass homelessness into permanent housing. In this article homeless women from Canada will share experiences of spirituality

Strength. There are health centers for homeless to aid in not only their health, but their outreach programs set them up in the right direction. Like in this case study, the center assisted him in signing up for health insurance and food benefits. Some programs, give homeless the psychological help.