The Mentally Ill and Homelessness
Steven Lopez's (2008) book (and, later, film), titled The Soloist, details the vents leading to the emotional, economic and psychological collapse of a talented young musician who becomes homeless after a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The story emphasizes the reality of life on the streets and its direct link to severe mental illness. The homeless musician, a real-world person named Nathaniel Ayers, lives in Los Angeles' Skid Row and alternates between periods of rationality and mental disarray. Lopez (2008) demonstrates in the text that the untreated disorder -and a disorder that is hard to treat under the best circumstances - is a primary causal antecedent of Ayers' inability to maintain a job or a residence. All too often, people who are homeless are also suffering from untreated or poorly managed mental illnesses.
Braithwaite (2006) pointed out that the mental health services delivery system in the United States is extremely fragmented, that mental disorders are the leading cause of disability for individuals aged 15 to 44 years, and an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans aged 18 or older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. Given that this is the case, it is not surprising that poor people, or those lacking in adequate health insurance or family support networks, literally "fall though the cracks" and disappear as did Nathaniel Ayers into the life on the streets.
The resources available for homeless men and women suffering from mental problems are limited. Many such individuals present to community mental health centers, temporary shelters, and other service agencies with a variety of problems. As Druss, Bornemann, Fry-Johnson, McCombs, Politzer, and Rust (2006) have noted, social workers in community mental health centers are increasingly required to deal with substance abuse problems which are among the primary presenting problems encountered in urban ...