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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 men
by 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.
- chaostheory 5y agoIt’s not telling us anything new because we already have the answer supported by several other studies. Their mental illness is so debilitating that they cannot function and they need professional help. That help is now being offered and you’re expressing doubt? As you’ve pointed out yourself they have no one and they don’t have “good insurance”. What’s the alternative, keeping the status quo? Imo this is best scenario. Like the Drug War, we’ve tried the Reagan Kennedy experiment with the mentally ill for decades, and it has failed. It’s time to move on. As a former homeless person myself and not someone from an upper middle class background, being more proactive with the mentally ill makes total sense. Btw chronically homeless people tend to experience schizophrenia more often than ADHD. It’s much easier to be high functioning with ADHD compared to the mental illnesses that the homeless tend to deal with