Many homeless men and women are living with a mental
illness. The illnesses vary from
bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, as well as others. About 25% of
the homeless community suffers from a mental illness. Mental illness is one of
the top three reasons why people become homeless. Those who are homeless, live in bad
conditions which affect their state of mind, body, and people around them.
In local and national cities, people have witnessed homeless
men and women acting strange, talking to themselves, or imagining things. In many cases, those acting strange are a
result of being homeless with a mental illness.
Considering that they are homeless, it is difficult to get proper
medication or care for themselves in order to continue with life’s daily tasks. There are services offered to the homeless which include: temporary housing, mental health treatment, and physical
health treatment. Lack of funding is an unfortunate barrier for the treatment
to be successful. According to the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are programs such as:
Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness which help the homeless
population with a mental illness.
The funding and treatment for those with a mental illness
should be consistent. In cases where the
treatment is not consistent, the illness can get worse. It is hard to imagine how difficult living on
the streets may be, with limited resources, and a mental illness. Without the resources, other aspects of life
such as relationships and motivation can be affected.
Besides being mentally ill, the physical conditions of
homelessness affect ones body. The lack
of personal hygiene can lead to skin diseases.
Skin diseases can be painful, especially while dealing with a mental
illness. The pain of dealing with a illness can lead to drugs such as: crack, heroin, and crystal meth. The symptoms of drugs, along with mental
illness, negatively affect the hope a person living with homelessness may have. It is important to improve the resources for
those who are homeless and living with a mental illness.
When all of the factors are considered, those living with a
mental illness self medicate in order to cope with their living
conditions. The self medication is also
a result of not having money or access to prescription medications specific to
their illness. The illicit street drugs and the mental illness combined will
result in harmful long term effects.
References:
National Coalition for the Homeless. 2009, Mental Illness and Homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf
U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2012, Homeless Health Concerns. Retrieved from