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"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
~Mahatma Ghandi
According to the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness (www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov/) about 4% of Americans have a serious mental illness, while 20 - 25% of homeless Americans have serious mental illnesses. Why is there such a disproportionate number of homeless persons with mental illness? People with mental illness have a harder time exiting homelessness, partially because approximately 50% have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. They are usually impoverished and unable to access mental health treatment, so the symptoms of mental illness are active and untreated, making it very difficult for them to meet their basic needs of food, shelter and safety.
It has been amply demonstrated by "Housing First" advocates that helping homeless mentally ill persons achieve stable housing and surrounding them with intensive multidisciplinary services improves their symptoms and helps improve their functioning in the community. Combining assertive outreach, integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment and stable housing with supportive services has made it possible for many "chronically" homeless persons to successfully make the transition to permanency and greater self-sufficiency.
In addition to helping homeless persons with chronic mental illness or co-occurring disorders regain stable housing, we, as housing advocates, must also concentrate on prevention of homelessness. Discharge planning is a critical step in prevention. Such basic services as accessing housing, mental health services, and other necessary community services should be provided to people leaving institutions. Ideally, discharge planning should start on the day the person enters the institution and be fully implemented on the day the person leaves the institution. Providing short-term intensive supportive services after the person leaves the institution has proven effective in reducing recurrent homelessness during this time of transition.
Using these two approaches concurrently will help in the fight to prevent and eliminate homelessness. Wouldn't it be nice to go to sleep at night knowing that all homeless persons have a safe, clean place to sleep and plenty to eat? That, my friends, is the reason we are all working in this field.
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