Sacrifice: A Case Study

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

Schizophrenia is one of the most well known and surprisingly frequent psychological disorders today. Patients who have this disorder have problems separating reality from fantasy or delusion. Typically, the person with schizophrenia starts off with a small paranoia about something or someone and continues to get more and more problematic until he/she has trouble functioning in the real world because of emotional, physical, mental, or financial reasons. Because of this, most people who end up homeless have Schizophrenia because they are unable to keep a job, Nathaniel Ayes in the book The Soloist. Nathaniel was a cello player attending the Julliard school of music, one of the world’s most prestigious performing art schools, until he

The problem of homelessness in American has gone pretty much unsolved since the turn of the 20th century or at least since the Great Depression and lately it seems that homelessness has become a desperate cycle often repeated for some who fail to make their way back from losing everything. This is especially true, this 21st century cycle of struggling to get back on one’s feet and then getting knocked down again before gaining any permanence, of those with special needs and conditions accompanying their homelessness like alcohol and substance abuse, a criminal record, a mental disorder or physical or learning disability – and being HIV positive. While homelessness overall remains a major challenge in Baltimore City and cities across the US, much has been done over the last couple decades to address these special needs populations – housing those infected with HIV/AIDS having been a major challenge mostly overcome.

Many people are willing to sacrifice for what they desire, whether out of selfish or selfless motives they are willing to sacrifice themselves or others. This sacrifice is a costly and even puzzling act. One must wonder, is this sacrifice for better or for worse? Here are two stories that will show two different sides to this query.

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

Homelessness for the mentally ill in America is disproportionately represented when compared to the remaining population. According to a report from the National Coalition for the Homeless, “only 6% of Americans are severely mentally ill,” while “20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness” (National Coalition for the Homeless). The exorbitant rate is exacerbated by the difficulties faced by the mentally ill regarding steady employment and maintenance of healthy relationships. There is a strong interrelation between homelessness and risks of incarceration. This correlation is more robust among the mentally ill. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council issued four major policy

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

D.D. is a 50-year-old, African American male presenting with a number of anxiety and depressive symptoms. The client reports that he came to counseling for “extra support and someone to talk to.” D.D. has been struggling with mental health issues since he was young. Since the age of 15 he has been hospitalized on and off for “hearing voices.” In the early 1980’s he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed Risperdal to treat the symptoms. Since then, D.D. has been in a variety of mental health settings, including hospitals, day programs, and outpatient treatment. The client has an extensive alcohol and drug use history that he believes impacted his Schizophrenia. In the early 1980’s the client would use alcohol every day “to avoid the voices,” drinking “anything he could get his hands on.” He was also heavily involved with drugs at that time and regularly used marijuana, PCP, cocaine, and heroine. In 2000, the client was sentenced to eight years in jail for four bank robberies. While in jail, D.D. received mental health treatment and alcohol and drug treatment, which was greatly beneficial. When the client was released from jail in 2008, he was drug and alcohol free and was taken off of Risperdal.

In Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, the focus is constantly on the question of whether or not the advance of technology requires a sacrifice of human individuality, religion, love, and many other aspects of life. Therefore, Aldous Huxley's theme is that the price of happiness and social stability will be the sacrifice of the most cherished possessions of our culture. In the novel, Mustapha Mond states that "God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine, and universal happiness." (Huxley). Here Huxley shows how religion can be sacrificed for peace. This world he has created with his novel shows religion is no longer needed to satisfy human desires. Unfortunately sacrificing and eliminating these aspects of life causes citizens

Investigation revealed that Vehicle 1 which was unoccupied and parked in front of 1650 Aurther Ave on the roadway parallel with the edge of the roadway headed in the opposite direction of traffic when Vehicle 1 was struck by an unknown vehicle (Vehicle 2 - Hit & Run) in an unknown direction causing damage to the front passenger side and the passenger side mirror.

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.

The homeless populations are among the most vulnerable populations in the United States. In today’s society, the homeless population consists of every age group, sex, religion, family type, and ethnic group. Families, children, and adults who are homeless suffer many adverse effects from living in shelters and on the streets, and approximately twenty six percent of homeless individuals suffer from severe mental illness (Stanhope, 2014). This paper focuses on the homeless population of all age groups, males and females, and the prevalence of mental health illness among this population in Los Angeles County.

One of the leading contributing factors in homelessness is mental illness. In many cases, before people become homeless, a mental illness disorder has occurred, which might result in loss of employment. In the United States, between 20 and 25 percent of homeless people are suffering from mental illness (Quigley). Mental illness was the cause of David Pirtle from Phoenix, Arizona, becoming homeless. He was working as a restaurant manager before he began to suffer from schizophrenia disorder. Because of his disorder, he was unable to retain a job. For over a year, Pirtle lived on the streets in Washington, DC. To survive everyday life he resorted to shoplifting among other things. Ultimately, he says that shoplifting led to his arrest and placement in a

REPORTER: The reporter/father (Christopher) called with concerns for the victim, Destiny. According to Christopher, Destiny wanted to come and stay with him for the summer. Three or four weeks ago (unknown date), Destiny called her father crying, her mother was cursing and saying that she was not going to stay with her father. On Saturday (three weeks ago), Christopher went to the home and saw blood and a nail mark on the victims head, right above her right eye, where Christy had been poking Destiny with her finger. Also, there were finger prints around her neck, and Destiny said Christy was trying to “slang” her around the living room, but Christy said she was trying to get her off the couch. As they were leaving, Christy told the victim

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).