The Fast Track to Homelessness : Mental Health

The Fast Track to Homelessness in Portland: Mental Health.

When we think of homelessness, we can think of an array of issues that contribute its the issue. Lack of affordable housing, vets that come home with PTSD into a world built for the average civilian, disabilities, or drug and mental health-related issues.

Notice that when those reasons are listed, many can argue that some of these are choices or simply the market, and others can argue that, regardless, it's an issue, that these things are complex, and that they need to be addressed. I personally agree. The one I want to hone in on, however, is mental health. Mental health has become more talked about with the rise of social media normalizing conversations on trauma, depression, and suicidal ideation. This doesn't mean, however it is fully normalized everywhere; some people don't have these hard conversations discussed in their family or community. This, as a result, ends up translating over to a certain extent, with mental health not being a priority in society. The need to curb it via creating a better and fairer environment, or the need to medicate it, or the need to treat it when it has already progressed, and we sure as hell don't have adequate funding for housing people, let alone those with mental health issues. There is not a lot of profit to be made for those who have a difficult time adjusting and living every day in a society built for neurotypical people.

One could argue it's hard enough for the average person to make ends meet to afford rent every month, and god forbid a health issue comes up and takes a toll on your emergency savings or bank account. Now imagine a person who comes from a traumatic background, often from poverty, developed mental health issues as a result, never got adequate health checkups, or could not afford the medication to mitigate the side effects of their mental health issue. The issue begins to really compound.

When it comes to Portland, we are no strangers to these issues. Oregon ranks 8th in terms of the amount of homelessness by state. Though much of it can be attributed to zoning laws with a strict urban boundary line in the Portland Metro area that serves to protect the environment and wildlife. The issue remains even when more units are built, not all are affordable, and there is a lack of services that can fully handle the capacity of people who need particular help.

One of the reasons Portland faces issues of homelessness is because of mental health services that were cut in the 90's, coupled with a lack of units that were affordable to help these people. Often, people with mental issues face a lack of support from family who can adequately help, and because mental health services can be costly, it can be hard for the individual to have money for housing. It was found across 38 differing studies that those who are homeless suffer from some type of mental health issue or disorder, above 73%. The reason I mention all this is, when we see a strong correlation to mental health and homelessness, we see where one of the issues is arising. We can't always expand boundary lines; they have to end somewhere, and we can't build endless units in smaller cities. What we can do is make sure what we have built now is affordable to those who need it, regardless of their mental well-being.

We should care because time and time again, even the stats show your mental well-being can determine a lot about where you end up home ownership-wise. You or anyone you know can develop or be told you have a mental illness, and it puts things into perspective of how you would be treated, especially when it comes to having one of the most basic human needs, a shelter, a roof above your head. Someone's father with schizophrenia, or mother with psychosis, or brother or sister could be out of a house because the issue of their health was not even considered. How we take care of the weak in our society speaks volumes to its values. For more information on sources, help, or resources for those in need. Please click on the links below.
https://homelessnomore.com/why-so-many-homeless-in-portland-unpacking-the-causes-and-challenges/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8423293/
https://www.portland.gov/wheeler/news/2023/8/7/homeless-and-behavioral-health-resources
https://outsidein.org/behavioral-health-services/
https://blanchethouse.org/resources/
https://www.greaterportlandhealth.org/services/healthcare-for-the-homeless-program