The Leading Cause Of Homelessness In The United States

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

According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, only 16% of the single adult homeless population suffer from some form of mental illness and according to the National Coalition to the Homeless, The increasingness of homelessness over that past two decades can not be explained by addiction alone

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, approximately 564,708 people were homeless on a single night in January of 2015 in the United States (“The State of Homelessness in 2016”). It is estimated that 250,000 people who suffer from Mental Health illnesses are homeless (Torrey). Providing affordable housing, and access to mental health services for the homeless population are essential components to end the homeless epidemic.

As proclaimed by The National Coalition for the Homeless, “Serious mental illnesses disrupt people’s ability to carry out essential aspects of daily life, such as self-care and household management.” Those suffering from mental illnesses are prevented from properly carrying out the intrinsic skills of livelihood. A mental illness may prevent one from possessing the ability to get a job, eat, earning wherewithal, and perform the multitudinous imperative skills entailed for survival. The preventions of mental illness undeniably can cause one to become

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

S., Shtasel, D., & Bassuk, E. L., 2014). Psychiatric problems and homelessness is being caused very much by a lack of social support that is given to them, as well as negative social relationships, and the events in their lives that cause stress (Keuroghlian, A. S., Shtasel, D., & Bassuk, E. L., 2014).

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

Although surveys have been conducted defending that mental illness does cause homelessness. There are several arguments that personal disabilities such as mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse and physical or mental handicaps are not the primary causes of homelessness. While these conditions make people more vulnerable to

In fact, nearly one-third of the homeless population are schizophrenic or have manic-depressive illnesses. Schizophrenia, however, is very treatable and manageable if given the appropriate guidance and attention. Also, many of the homeless are also willing to get help, contrary to popular belief. In addition to mental illness, half of the homeless who have a severe mental illness also suffer from substance abuse. What these mentally ill need are patient mentors and professionals who are willing to take the time to help these homeless people get back on track. It is shown that the homeless who have mental illnesses have a higher chance of recovery if they have a stable, supportive place to

Mentally ill patients are overcrowding the streets because no shelter seems to welcome them. Their mental state simply worsens and they are forced to surrender to their living standards. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, in 2007 reported, “An estimate of 744,313 people were experiencing homelessness in January of 2005. Of that amount, 40 to 50 percent of that population were mentally ill and left untreated”. Ultimately, the mentally ill patients who are forced to live on the streets are unable to receive proper treatment due to lack of fundings. On top of that, homeless patients cannot afford proper diagnoses even if they were given the opportunity. The homeless are constantly moving locations in attempt to finding a warm, safe place to camp for the night. Many homeless turn to drugs or alcohol to keep

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

“While they make up a small share of the homeless population, they are disproportionately costly to society: They consume nearly 60 percent of the resources spent on emergency and transitional shelter for adults, and they occupy hospitals and jails at high rates.” (Culhane, 2010) Additionally, this small population is very visible and thus creates the perception that most homeless are mentally unstable.

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

In the complex society of this day and age, homelessness is an ever growing epidemic; People can become homeless for many reasons: losing a job, addiction to drugs and mental illness. People drive or walk past a homeless person every day without thinking ever about the predicament of that individual or they may even unintentionally turn their heads the other way in repulsion. Homelessness can be defined as an individual or a family whose has a main nighttime dwelling that is a public or private place not designed for or normally used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground, doorway or alley sidewalk. Any given night in Portland there can be upwards of 4000 people sleeping on the streets in homeless camps, shelters, or under the bridges, this report looks at the direct correlation between homelessness, the disease of drug addiction, and mental illness, And will try to address ways to help decrease and prevent it from increasing.

Using the symptoms of the previously described mental health diagnoses, this study intends to discover a correlation between having mental health problems and homelessness in hopes of understanding the affects it is having on this population. The hypothesis is that there will be a strong correlation between the independent variable of mental health symptomatology and the dependent variable of being homeless, have been homeless previously, or on the verge of becoming