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This is what will help end the homelessness problem. 80% of the chronically homeless suffer from mental issues and they need help.

gutitout 5y ago
Drug induced psychosis.
jeffbee 5y ago
Yes but ... In my county the census of homeless persons counted only 17% of chronically homeless who primarily attributed their situation to mental health. By comparison half of chronic homelessness was blamed on lack of money, i.e. the cost of housing. Treating their mental health conditions may not solve their overall problem. https://everyonehome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019_HIRDReport_Alameda_FinalDraft_8.15.19.pdf https://everyonehome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019_HIR...
- chaostheory 5y ago
  That’s just one county out of several in the Bay Area. Your study is also just a survey. There’s a good chance a mentally ill person will not consider themselves mentally ill. Nationally the percentage range from 60-80% of chronically homeless as mentally ill depending on the study.
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    That's consistent with the data here: 70% of them are mentally ill. But it's not considered the primary reason they are homeless. If you prefer to blame homelessness on mental illness, you need some kind of explanation for why homelessness has tripled in ten years, and why it's highly correlated with rents and anticorrelated with vacancy rates.
    - chaostheory 5y ago
      Because Reagan and the Kennedys made it so that you need direct consent from the mentally ill person for treatment. Otherwise, nothing can be done. Mental illness prevents many people from being able to hold down jobs and be independent when they are not getting needed treatment. You can't rely on the mentally ill to provide you with the real reason why they are homeless. That's a near useless survey. 80% of the homeless recover. It's mainly the mentally ill ones that stay chronic.
      - masonic 5y ago
        >Because Reagan and the Kennedys made it so that you need direct consent No, that was the ACLU and the courts.
        chaostheory 5y ago
        No, it was Reagan with the Kennedys helping promote and sponsor the legislation https://www.kqed.org/news/11209729/did-the-emptying-of-mental-hospitals-contribute-to-homelessness-here https://www.kqed.org/news/11209729/did-the-emptying-of-menta... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1980 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1...
hodgesrm 5y ago
You need to cite authoritative sources on that. Mental health is a significant contributor but not necessarily a root cause. Most studies I have seen show that housing costs are the determinative factor. [1] Treating people is the right thing to do but won't end the problem. [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/08/1003982733/squalor-behind-the-golden-gate-confronting-californias-homelessness-crisis https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/08/1003982733/squ...
- chaostheory 5y ago
  https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/never-ending-loop-homelessness-psychiatric-disorder-and-mortality https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/never-ending-loop-home... There are several more papers that back the mental health angle. The key issue in the United States is that we need to have the consent of a mentally unwell individual before we can give them the psychiatric help that’s needed to get them off the streets
  - drekk 5y ago
    That paper isn't telling us anything new though. It's not telling us that mental health predicts homelessness, only that the homeless are disproportionately mentally ill. I'm mentally ill and make six figures as a software engineer. SWEs are disproportionately AD(H)D but it's not seen as a problem. From what you linked: "A qualitative study highlighted the basic human needs that often take priority over seeking psychiatric care. Access to adequate nutrition, water, shelter, and protection from the elements are the reality homeless individuals encounter daily, and these issues take priority over psychiatric needs, which are often not addressed until a crisis occurs." Forcing the homeless into psychiatric care without their consent is skirting around why psychiatric care is currently inaccessible. People die rationing insulin, something tells me Uncle Sam isn't going to provide bipolar people on the street with free lithium. Plus people have good reason to distrust their doctor, a non-zero portion of homeless people ended up there after being prescribed Oxy and getting addicted to opiates. Substance abuse is driving most of the disparate health outcomes, and is a mental health issue but more importantly a public health one. The US as evidenced by the lack of a pandemic response does not care much about the public health. I have good insurance. And supportive parents. I found navigating my diagnosis and care difficult, and I don't live on the street. I feel as though some of the commentators here have never experienced poverty nor can they empathize at a basic level with the struggle. It just seems as though psychiatric wards are meant to disappear these people since we can't disappear the underlying problem: commodification of shelter, water, food, knowledge.

gutitout 5y ago

Drug induced psychosis.

jeffbee 5y ago

Yes but ... In my county the census of homeless persons counted only 17% of chronically homeless who primarily attributed their situation to mental health. By comparison half of chronic homelessness was blamed on lack of money, i.e. the cost of housing. Treating their mental health conditions may not solve their overall problem. https://everyonehome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019_HIRDReport_Alameda_FinalDraft_8.15.19.pdf https://everyonehome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019_HIR...

chaostheory 5y ago
That’s just one county out of several in the Bay Area. Your study is also just a survey. There’s a good chance a mentally ill person will not consider themselves mentally ill. Nationally the percentage range from 60-80% of chronically homeless as mentally ill depending on the study.
- jeffbee 5y ago
  That's consistent with the data here: 70% of them are mentally ill. But it's not considered the primary reason they are homeless. If you prefer to blame homelessness on mental illness, you need some kind of explanation for why homelessness has tripled in ten years, and why it's highly correlated with rents and anticorrelated with vacancy rates.
  - chaostheory 5y ago
    Because Reagan and the Kennedys made it so that you need direct consent from the mentally ill person for treatment. Otherwise, nothing can be done. Mental illness prevents many people from being able to hold down jobs and be independent when they are not getting needed treatment. You can't rely on the mentally ill to provide you with the real reason why they are homeless. That's a near useless survey. 80% of the homeless recover. It's mainly the mentally ill ones that stay chronic.
    - masonic 5y ago
      >Because Reagan and the Kennedys made it so that you need direct consent No, that was the ACLU and the courts.
      - chaostheory 5y ago
        No, it was Reagan with the Kennedys helping promote and sponsor the legislation https://www.kqed.org/news/11209729/did-the-emptying-of-mental-hospitals-contribute-to-homelessness-here https://www.kqed.org/news/11209729/did-the-emptying-of-menta... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1980 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1...

hodgesrm 5y ago

You need to cite authoritative sources on that. Mental health is a significant contributor but not necessarily a root cause. Most studies I have seen show that housing costs are the determinative factor. [1] Treating people is the right thing to do but won't end the problem. [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/08/1003982733/squalor-behind-the-golden-gate-confronting-californias-homelessness-crisis https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/08/1003982733/squ...

chaostheory 5y ago
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/never-ending-loop-homelessness-psychiatric-disorder-and-mortality https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/never-ending-loop-home... There are several more papers that back the mental health angle. The key issue in the United States is that we need to have the consent of a mentally unwell individual before we can give them the psychiatric help that’s needed to get them off the streets
- drekk 5y ago
  That paper isn't telling us anything new though. It's not telling us that mental health predicts homelessness, only that the homeless are disproportionately mentally ill. I'm mentally ill and make six figures as a software engineer. SWEs are disproportionately AD(H)D but it's not seen as a problem. From what you linked: "A qualitative study highlighted the basic human needs that often take priority over seeking psychiatric care. Access to adequate nutrition, water, shelter, and protection from the elements are the reality homeless individuals encounter daily, and these issues take priority over psychiatric needs, which are often not addressed until a crisis occurs." Forcing the homeless into psychiatric care without their consent is skirting around why psychiatric care is currently inaccessible. People die rationing insulin, something tells me Uncle Sam isn't going to provide bipolar people on the street with free lithium. Plus people have good reason to distrust their doctor, a non-zero portion of homeless people ended up there after being prescribed Oxy and getting addicted to opiates. Substance abuse is driving most of the disparate health outcomes, and is a mental health issue but more importantly a public health one. The US as evidenced by the lack of a pandemic response does not care much about the public health. I have good insurance. And supportive parents. I found navigating my diagnosis and care difficult, and I don't live on the street. I feel as though some of the commentators here have never experienced poverty nor can they empathize at a basic level with the struggle. It just seems as though psychiatric wards are meant to disappear these people since we can't disappear the underlying problem: commodification of shelter, water, food, knowledge.