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Homelessness and
Mental Health |
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The
widespread issue of homelessness has only been exacerbated by the pandemic
and more people than ever are faced with housing insecurity. The issue of those struggling just to survive and get by
is something that is not new to our country but something that needs to be
focused on more. Along with this housing has become more inaccessible and the
income gap in California especially is concerning and only increasing. Certain groups of people are more likely to experience homelessness.
Some of the most vulnerabe are the mentall ill and veterans. Not only can it be incredibly
different for those with psychiatric issues to hold a job down, but it can
also be hard to afford help to even get treated. The intense conditions of
homelessness have been found to exacerbate symptoms. “Lack of treatment for the most seriously mentally ill causes the kind
of delusions and bizarre behavior that makes living alone or at home with
families untenable. As a result, many become people with untreated serious
mental illness become homeless and communities are forced to bear the cost of
that” (mentallillnesspolicy). |
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Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND |
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What can we do?
1.
Work towards community acceptance and less stigma around it. 2. An option could be to redistribute a portion
of police funding and put it towards mental health workers and aiding those
in need. For example, if we shifted even one-sixth of the police budget
towards this and measured the difference in terms of what the community is
seeing, rates of homelessness, and crime. Crime is often a projection of the
need coming from within the community. 3. Focusing on “affordable
housing policies that ease overall shortages of housing and high costs” (local
housing solutions.org). This website discusses how homelessness is a housing
issue and therefore an issue for our government and taxes to tackle more
aggressively. 4.
Another
area to reallocate money from could be the military budget. This budget is
incredibly high and by reallocating even a small portion of this money
towards programs to assist the ones in our country in need, we can make it a
better place for many people. A way to decide who needs help the most is
aiding families, mentally ill, and veterans first. More shelters and proper
counseling can be set up for them and can check in with progress six months
and a year down the line. A more specific way to measure could be to see who
has found jobs, made significant steps to get out of their situation, or even
found a steady place to live besides the shelter. |
This
Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY This
Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC |
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The
Cycle
The stress
of being homeless, lack of resources, and access to care can often lead to a
decline in mental and physical health. The pattern leads to not being stable enough
to keep a job which leads to homelessness. This leads to more decline in
mental health and ability to help themselves. |
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Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY |
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What’s worked An example, “Trieste in northern Italy, close to the Slovenian
border, has radically reduced homelessness by focusing on mental health: studies have found up to 45% of US homeless people, for example, have
some kind of mental health problem, and up to 25% are seriously mentally ill”
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/dec/10/homelessness-is-not-inevitable-and-can-be-solved-these-cities-show-us-how |
How to help right now:
·
Volunteer your time ·
Donate food/items/money/toys to shelters ·
Hold local drives Links
for more info and ways to help:
Volunteer locally! More ways to help in Sacramento! |
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www.localhousingsolutions.org/act/policy-objectives/reducing-homelessness-and-meeting-the-emergency-needs-of-homeless-individuals-and-families/
Anna
Hanawalt takes full responsibility for the information posted. The
information on this page represents that of Anna Hanawalt and not that
of California State University, Sacramento. |
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