The Link Between Homelessness And Mental Health

According to Homeless Link (2010), homeless people are 4 times more likely to suffer from mental health issues, compared to those with stable accommodation (Homeless Link, 2010). Generally, homelessness can be described as a situation where a person is ejected from his or her home due to economic problems or illness. In addition, homelessness can contribute to the cause of most mental health issues which can sometimes result in homeless people with mental health issues facing extreme forms of social exclusion (The Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2012). Nevertheless, Bhugra (2007) argues that most people who had no mental illness develop mental health issues while homeless because of the trauma and experience associated to homelessness, this can be disempowering and can result in severe isolation. Furthermore, Bhugra (2007) concluded that ‘not all individuals with mental illness are homeless and not all homeless individuals are mentally ill’. Shelter (2007) highlighted the possible link between homelessness and mental health which showed the effects homelessness has on the mental health of homeless people with street sleepers and rough sleepers been severely affected (Shelter, 2007).

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.

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

To date, there has been a significant amount of research conducted on young homeless people; however, there has not been much research conducted on the older population. The baby boomers are now approaching older ages and the percentage of homeless people is increasing. Research has also indicated that the older generation, particularly 55 and over, is commonly found to be Caucasian males with abundant health problems. This study targeted older adults with mental illness using a system known as ACCESS. ACCESS stands for the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports. This was funded by the Center for Mental Health Services for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Gordon, 2012).

Mental illness is very common: nearly one in five adults in the United States- 43.8 million or 18.5%- experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities (Any Mental Illness. 2015). Mental illnesses are health conditions that disturb a person's way of thinking, feeling or mood. It does not matter what gender, age, social status, religion, race, ethnicity, and background someone comes from, it can affect anyone. One of the main populations that suffer from serious untreated mental illnesses are homeless. The homeless are individuals who have lost it all and are forced to live in the streets. Mental illness and homelessness are strongly associated with each other.

On the night of October 25, 2012, shelter providers in Minnesota counted 7,961 homeless individuals in shelters and transitional housing programs and an additional 2,221 homeless individuals were identified who were not staying in a formal shelter for a total of 10,214 homeless individuals (Wilder Research Foundation, 2014). The count from October 25, 2012 is an underrepresentation of the total homeless population in Minnesota, since many homeless people staying outside of the shelter system are not found on the night of the study. Research and descriptions of the homeless population are extremely limited due to the many difficulties associated with identifying and describing this population (Bawden, 1990). Many researchers have focused on shelters and soup kitchens in attempts to engage and study the mentally ill on the street; however this strategy limits

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,

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.

Homelessness is one of the socio-economic problems that can strike anyone when they least expect it. In the phase of the rapidly growing world populations accompanied with constant rising cost of living, it may be impossible to completely eradicate homelessness but it can be drastically reduced with some measures in place. Providing more affordable and readily available housing opportunities to low income earners can help them afford a permanent place of residence. Homelessness is simply lack of housing, so having a permanent place to live will keep people off the street. Also, studies have shown that there is a correlation between mental health and homelessness. People with poor mental health are more susceptible to the three main factors

Providing mental health along with assessments in homeless shelters is huge! I think it is amazing that you brought this up, it seems like this subject should be common sense to social workers. This is the absolute best way for many of the people in the homeless community to receive mental health services, as many homeless people have no idea where to begin when it comes to getting mental health services and a lot of them do not even realize they need help. The majority of the homeless population suffers from concurrent mental and substance use disorders, leading them to have more frequent use of emergency department and inpatient hospital services costing taxpayers. The crazy piece to this is it would actually be cheaper by millions of dollars

With that in mind, homelessness describes the condition of individuals without a consistent dwelling. Individuals who are experiencing homelessness are often unable to acquire safe, secure, and adequate night-time habitation. Additionally, when viewed from a macro perspective lens, homelessness in our society is one of the top social problems in our country, state, and in our cities. Moreover, when faced with the problem of chronic homelessness, many complications appear. For one, mental health recipients have been

America is one of the most developed countries in the world, nevertheless homelessness is consistently increasing affecting more than 500,000 Americans every day (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). It is both unorthodox and perturbing that in today’s society as the rich continue get richer, less fortunate individuals are suffering from famishment, are without shelter and have nonexistent healthcare. The government has allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations trying to unearth a solution to solve the homelessness conundrum, however nothing seems to be enough. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States is suffering from at least one form of severe mental illness (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). My final research paper will examine the social welfare policies and services for homeless adults with mental illness. I will address this social issue by examining the problem of homelessness within the mentally ill population, historical policy treatment, contemporary policies and strategies to increase mental health services to homeless adults in today’s society.

Poor health can contribute to being homeless and being homeless can lead to poor health. Homeless people experience from an extensive variety of medical problems. And limited access to health care can make it worse. According to the authors Burt. M, Aaron LY, Lee E, in the article “Helping America’s Homeless”: “Homelessness is a social issue has huge general wellbeing significance. It has been evaluated that 1% of Americans- somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million individuals in a given year, encounter a scene of homelessness that places them in contact with a homeless help supplier” (Urban Institute Press; 2001). In the recent studies it has been found that out of each three homeless people experiences some kind of emotional sickness. The mental illness may have been the reason the individual wound up noticeable homeless. Individuals encountering homelessness have an essentially higher danger of death. Disorders that influence joints, ligaments and tendons (like joint pain) are normal among individuals encountering homelessness. A study made by few doctors that manages chronic pain among homeless individuals found that treatment is a challenge due to stressful living on the streets or in

There is a long tradition in social psychology of research on the development of attitudes and how they are related to actual behavior. Research has suggested that attitudes of individuals predict their intentions to act as well as indirectly their later behaviors (Ajzen, I. (2001). Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 27–58.) There has been similar research that supports the connection of attitudes and beliefs to homelessness, and an individual support on particular programs, and even behaviors towards homelessness itself. (Homelessness in Europe and the United States: A Comparison of Prevalence and Public Opinion)

Every year more and more people become homeless here in the United States. Some choose the option of staying in a shelter and others prefer to stay and live outside. As we all know, the winter in New England can be very cold. Unfortunately, in our area, the homeless individuals don’t always have the option of staying outside. Once winter approaches, the homeless individuals need to go stay in a shelter, since New England winter temperatures can be deadly for them. The following report will outline why people become homeless and what the most common mental illnesses are, that homeless individuals are suffering from.