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> I would not be surprised if, due to the disparity in the overall wealth of the two places, homeless people in New York skewed much more into the latter group

> I would not be surprised if, due to the disparity in the overall wealth of the two places, homeless people in New York skewed much more into the latter group than homeless people in Liberia. I would. Mainly because Liberia, from 1989 to 1996, was in the middle of a civil war that claimed the lives of 200,000 and displaced millions more into refugee camps. Liberia has been the center of coup and counter-coup and counter-counter-coup since 1980. I would be extraordinarily surprised if the incidence of PTSD and disabilities from trauma were lower there than they are here. And given that neither USA nor Liberia have significant mental health facilities for those without the means to obtain it (we just dump them in jail), I doubt the incidence of other mental illness, as a percentage of population, are any different.

chc 12y ago
But one would expect the opportunity available in a worn-torn country to be lower as well.
- zo1 12y ago
  Didn't you read the latest news on war? Apparently, they claim that a lack of it makes the economy stagnate. </no_kidding_they_really_said_that>
  - chc 12y ago
    Not that I'm inclined to agree with the war-as-a-business-model approach to economics, but there are a number of very significant differences between paying for a war against an opponent who can scarcely afford to retaliate and having your own country turned into a war zone. Even people who benefit from the former are unlikely to be in favor of the latter. Having a lot of the national currency of a pile of rubble is not a very good place to be in the grand scheme of things
ars 12y ago
You understood his point backwards. He's not saying there are more people with mental health issues in NY, but rather than there are more homeless people for other reasons (i.e. economic) in Liberia.
- warfangle 12y ago
  Most homeless, even here in NY, aren't homeless because they are mentally ill. Most of the chronically (decade+) homeless are. Most homeless here in the states are transitionally homeless - usually for less than a month. Usually they're families, homeless for economic reasons. I'd be willing to wager that the ratio of mentally ill (I consider alcoholism and drug addiction to be mental illnesses) homeless to economically homeless are similar in both countries.

chc 12y ago

But one would expect the opportunity available in a worn-torn country to be lower as well.

zo1 12y ago
Didn't you read the latest news on war? Apparently, they claim that a lack of it makes the economy stagnate. </no_kidding_they_really_said_that>
- chc 12y ago
  Not that I'm inclined to agree with the war-as-a-business-model approach to economics, but there are a number of very significant differences between paying for a war against an opponent who can scarcely afford to retaliate and having your own country turned into a war zone. Even people who benefit from the former are unlikely to be in favor of the latter. Having a lot of the national currency of a pile of rubble is not a very good place to be in the grand scheme of things

ars 12y ago

You understood his point backwards. He's not saying there are more people with mental health issues in NY, but rather than there are more homeless people for other reasons (i.e. economic) in Liberia.

warfangle 12y ago
Most homeless, even here in NY, aren't homeless because they are mentally ill. Most of the chronically (decade+) homeless are. Most homeless here in the states are transitionally homeless - usually for less than a month. Usually they're families, homeless for economic reasons. I'd be willing to wager that the ratio of mentally ill (I consider alcoholism and drug addiction to be mental illnesses) homeless to economically homeless are similar in both countries.