Capitol times. (Middletown, Pa.) 1982-2013, November 04, 2009, Image 6
Homeless struggle with mental illness, medical care By SEPIDEH SAFAEE Staff Writer SOSSO34@PSU.EDU The mentally ill homeless in the United States have been associated with the costly use of medical and social services, which have been somewhat ineffective, since the number of homeless suffering from mental illnesses has been increasing. According to the National Law Center on Homeless and Poverty, 57 percent of the population of homeless people had mental illnesses in 2004, though the numbers continue to rise. The increasing numbers of the mentally ill on the streets have been affecting public safety, according to the Journal of Community Health Nursing. In January 2007, nearly 63 percentofthe homeless population who were provided shelter were individuals, and more than 37 percent were families, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To reduce the number of mentally ill homeless on the streets, the HUD said that they will be providing 15,000 units ofpermanent housing in the United States in an effort to reduce the cost and suffering associated with homelessness. “HUD funds are appropriated each year through the HUD budget,” said Stanley Seidenfeld, regional supervisor officer in New York, and John Roberto of Pittsburgh, HUD supervisor regional operations officer. Roberto said that HUD gets support from regional authorizing and legislations and a number of other types of programs. The most recent grant was given in 2008 at $1.3 billion nationwide, Roberto said The money does not go toward building new housing, —- Seidenfeld said, but rather goes abuse or have a serious mental toward construction work for illness. They must have been previously built houses to keep homeless for a year or more or them operating. have had at least four episodes “To receive regular homeless of homelessness in the past three assistance a person must be years. “This requirement is in homeless for one night,” said place only for homeless who are Roberto. He said applicants chronically ill,” said Roberto, have to meet the requirement of “Many of these people coping homelessness to receive housing with severe mental illness because resources are limited, have been trapped in a cycle of “But we tiy to place them in homelessness, going back and housing that will do them the forth from the streets to a shelter,” Novembi Courtesyofbetheadamissiont.org; Above is Bethesda Mission’s men shelter, located at 611 Reilly St. in downtown Harrisburg. According to its website, Bethesda Mission provides temporary shelter to about 100 men and 40 women and children per night, more than 100,000 meals per year and a full-time after-school youth program. most good,” he said. According the Roberto, HUD tries to get the homeless on the right track with the ultimate goal of moving them from nightly housing to transitional housing to permanent housing. Although for homeless people with chronic illnesses to qualify for housing, they must be individuals disabled by substance “Many of these people coping with severe mental illness have been trapped in a cycle of homelessness, going back and forth from the streets to a shelter.” THE CAPITAL TIME! said Suzann Legander, publisher of the Behavioral Healthcare Journal: Housing First. John Roberto of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the percentage of mentally ill homeless and homeless people that have not applied to HUD vary by jurisdiction provided by the local government. The percentage of homeless staying in shelters changes daily, depending on a variety of factors, weather being one of them. “Among all the homeless people, 58 percent were sleeping in emergency shelters or transitional housing facilities and the rest were on the streets,” said Steve C. Preston, Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many of the shelters caring for the mentally ill do not folly assist the homeless with their fundamental needs, which is why they often end up on the streets again. According to the Journal of Community Health and Nursing, health care providers intentionally rely on common health care settings such as required documents, security personal and locked doors, knowing that it will intimidate or frighten the homeless and keep them out. “Health care providers are most not need to be there, in which case likely keep homeless out because the hospital will usually release of cost issues,” said Dr. Richa them. Aggarwal, a psychiatrist at Penn Psychiatrist Dr. Aggarwal said State Hershey Medical Center. Penn State Hershey Medical According to the Journal of Center provides the same type of Community Health Nursing, programs they would provide for the transition from homeless to non-homeless patients. Homeless housing usually begins when patients do not need to meet any police find them sleeping or specific criteria. They only have to wandering the streets. Police will meet the same criteria as a normal usually take them to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation, and if the patients meet the criteria, they are admitted, but they are usually discharged after two or three days Officer Frank J. Divonzo, a Penn State Harrisburg Police Services officer, said that officers When patients will sometimes have problems are discharged they have nothing deciding whether to take homeless to go back to. “They take you to a hospital, because they must in because the police bring you, take into account if hospital will but as soon as they drive away, release them after the police the hospital is trying to toss you have left, ffivonzo said when back out in the streets,” said one homeless people are taken in, individual, they will sotnetii&es move in and Aggarwal said that some may still out of psychotie stales and tell the be living on the streets because hospital that they are fine and do most state hospitals do not provide “We do not turn them away. If they need help we pro vide it for them, and if we see that their condition is severe, we then admit them.” psychiatric patient would need to meet. Aggarwal said that some of the criteria necessary for admittance would be that they are not able to take care of themselves or are harmful to themselves to others.