Reducing Homelessness Research Paper

Homelessness is a growing problem in today’s society. Because of the economic crises, many people are losing his or her jobs because company’s had to cut back on expenses, as well as companies that have closed down completely. Furthermore because of the economic crises many mental institutions are forced to close the doors because of lack of funds. People who once had a safe healthy place to call home are being forced into homelessness and are lacking the health care needed to ensure a happy healthy life. Something has to be done to assist homeless people in finding housing and healthcare they so desperately need. Although it is not possible to solve the homeless

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

Homelessness is a nationwide problem, it has brought tremendous attention to how the issue of homelessness is viewed and dealt with in today’s society. The lack of a solution should be a great concern; society needs to rise up and implement a plan to combat the issue of homelessness. Due to a decrease of affordable housing; lack of job training, along with low wages, and limited mental health and addiction services, the epidemic of homelessness is increasing in the United States. Communities and activist groups must come together and work with nonprofits and government programs to alleviate the homelessness epidemic. There are not enough resources available to deal with mentally ill and drug addicted individuals. Therefore, society has adopted a community and social activist groups to help combat the problems of homelessness.

Different reviews demonstrate that the substantial part of the homeless is living with some type of mental instability or other serious medical issues. Because of the ending of mental institutions, the destitute populace, particularly homeless people with genuine mental illness, has expanded consistently since the 1970s. Psychological problems can essentially influence an individual's capacity to acquire and keep up stable lodging and to profit by social services. Deficiencies in a man's memory, recognition, and judgment, can bring about poor critical thinking and social abilities, and in his/her failure to settle on steady choices. The behaviors take place because of cognitive debilitations and inadvertent, yet they are frequently inadequately comprehended by social service workers and others and are infrequently considered to be difficult to help.

In our communication they made clear that they also looked at themes that did not match, such a voluntary leaving of the home. However, no member took into consideration metal health. All members also focused on the cause and problems of homelessness with no member viewing the possible solutions to it. An article by Bassuk, E., Rubin, L., & Lauriat, A. (1984). “Is homelessness a mental health problem?”  Looked at Seventy-eight homeless men, women, and children staying at an emergency shelters and found The vast majority have severe psychological illnesses that remained untreated. The authors discuss the relationship of mental health policy to the homeless and suggest that shelters have become alternative institutions to meet the needs of mentally ill people who are no longer cared for by departments of mental health. The findings of the management of metal issues for those who are homeless is mirrored by the case studies of Stephanie’s and Teresa’s mental health playing a large role in their homelessness. Fischer, P. J., & Breakey, W. R. (1991) in their “The epidemiology of alcohol, drug, and mental disorders among homeless persons” look into the prevalence of alcohol, drug, and mental disorders and the characteristics of homeless substance abusers and persons with mental illnesses. They found that prevalence rates of disorders are much higher in homeless

Persons with mental illness make up a large amount of people who are homeless. According to the substance Abuse and Mental heal services Administration 20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United State suffers from some severe form of mental illness (National Institute Of Mental Health, 2009) . Serious mental health issues in disrupts a person’s ability to live a normal functioning life. People who fall into this category have a very hard time practicing self care and basic household management and even keep a stable job due to their sickness. In relation to homelessness people who are mentally ill also have a hard time keeping stable relationships with people in society. This results in pushing away care givers, family and friend who may be force to that keeps them from becoming homeless and once they have losses those people then they don’t have any one to take care of them or have any place to live. A study done in California public mental health system which looked at individuals who had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia found that 15% had been homeless at some point of their lives (Folsom et al.,2005).

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

The homeless are a growing group in our state, nation, and even worldwide. California is one of the states with the highest homeless population; about one-third of the nation’s homeless population resides in the state. The United States homeless population is over half a million people, about 0.5% of its population. The worldwide homeless is even more staggering, around 100 million people are living on little to nothing. The majority of people categorized under being homeless are mentally ill. Mental illnesses are a driving factor in homelessness, and the issue needs to be addressed more, and not brushed off with the age-old statement “they chose to be homeless with their actions”.

The number of homeless people in urban communities in the Unified States surpasses 200,000, and an expected fourteen-million Americans were homeless at some point in their lives. Among these people, 20% to 35% experience an extreme mental illness, with expanded rates of substance abuse and criminal involvement. Because of all this, this is an especially difficult group for mental health providers to reach and help. Distinguishing what practice is most effective may improve care for the homeless mentally ill. In respect to standard case management, assertive community treatment is connected with noteworthy advancements in rates of homelessness and levels of psychiatric manifestation in the homeless mentally ill. The proof demonstrates that assertive community treatment was factually proportional to standard case administration in lowering hospitalization. Earlier meta-examinations analyzed the adequacy of confident group treatment versus other case administration in

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

The issue of homelessness is not one that is easily defined or characterized. In fact, many organizations and legislative actions spend a significant portion of their time and resources in attempting to define homelessness. For, only once the issue is defined can it be effectively addressed. There are also, perhaps, different types of homelessness whose resolution may need to be addressed with differing methods from one another.

For several years, researchers group together to find the right direction in analyzing how homeless people can acquire a better framework in a direction of regaining their dignity and integrity. Researchers were able to create an assessment tools that eventually produce a meaningful result. This paper will discuss the different tools that can assess the homeless people in developing the necessary guide to overcome their present difficulties, mentally and physically.

In the article, “Caring for Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illness in General Hospitals” mental illness was stated as a major independent risk factor for homelessness creating many burdens and barriers for this vulnerable population (Bauer, Baggett, Stern, O'Connell, & Shtasel, 2013). Mental illness causes undue hardship on an already burdened population. Lack of education that many people suffering from SMI tend to have due to early age onset of SMI often creates a multitude of difficulties for the homeless (Bauer, Baggett, Stern, O'Connell, & Shtasel, 2013). Additionally, impaired judgment from both mental illness and often substance abuse and dysfunctional organizational skills keep this group from attaining and retaining good jobs

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

Once homeless, the vicious cycle of downward social drift rapidly manifests itself. The abuse of