The Untreated Wound: Mental Health Crisis in the Homeless Community

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Homelessness is a major social and economic issue that needs to be addressed for justice to prevail. When we speak of homelessness, we must understand the complexity of the issue. Even though there have been some improvements and we can see slight stability in the issue, there needs to be more done. With rents increasing daily and job opportunities decreasing, we as a society need to ask ourselves about this exclusively marginalized population and work together as a community towards their improvement which in reality also constitutes our improvement. Besides not having shelter, food, and common needs, there needs to be more awareness about the mental well-being of people who experience homelessness. We need more resources, affordable professional help, counseling,  and community support to decrease the burden of mental health issues and suicide rates within homeless population.

Mental health issues and suicide are on the rise in the homeless community. According to the ABC news reports, over 122,000 people experiencing homelessness, suffered from severe mental health issues. Additionally, suicide rates due to these mental health issues coupled with the health conditions that comes with being homeless such as being exposed to drugs, alcohol, respiratory and skin infections, and poor hygiene, increases the risk of mortality and morbidity among these individuals compared to their housed counterparts. 8% of people ages 30-35,  who suffer from mental health and experience homelessness reported having suicidal ideations and trying committing suicide in a month. 

Besides having to worry about making ends meet and even most of the time not knowing whether they will have food to eat, having mental health problems can only make it harder for homeless people to live. Those who already live with mental illnesses due to childhood traumas and experience homelessness, are at higher risk and do not have access to care due to its cost. Dealing with mental health itself can make it hard to seek treatment. In addition, the stigma surrounding homelessness can shy away people from seeking help even when it’s accessible. 

The first important step towards helping is recognizing homelessness and homeless people as a symptom of a deeper issue rather than the issue itself. Some ways that we can help is through increasing awareness about this issue through education, making access to healthcare including counseling affordable, providing community support such as food banks and free clothing, and also making housing more accessible and affordable for this population. If you are interested in learning more about the issue check the website below: 


https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/amount-homeless-people-mental-illness-increased-slightly-recent/story?id=103751677


https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/never-ending-loop-homelessness-psychiatric-disorder-and-mortality


https://nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/suicide-fact-sheet.pdf



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