Mental Health & the Homeless
Social justice refers to the idea of a society where justice is achieved in every facet, not just the administration of law. Social justice makes way for fair treatment and the rights to all the benefits society has to offer. Throughout this semester, we have been taking a closer look at social justice and social change. So, when given the assignment to investigate and report on the Greenville Community Shelter, the theme of social change and social justice fit accordingly.
In visiting the shelter, I was immediately made aware of the problem of homelessness many Americans are facing today, especially as the economy continues to ail. This problem is exacerbated to an even greater degree when the homeless have a mental illness.
The presence of any kind of illness can make one’s daily routine difficult. But, when you consider the effects of a mental illness, going about life’s normal activities is impaired that much more.
The main problem associated with people who have some sort of mental illness and being homeless is that it complicates their situation. Most people are not born into homelessness, rather they face some financial hardship that forces them to make crucial sacrifices that ultimately leave them poverty stricken and at a greater risk of becoming homeless. This is the case for several residents at the Greenville Shelter. Their lives before being homeless were already at a high risk for homelessness because of the added financial burden of adhering to a mental disorder. This draws attention to the continued need and more investment in community based programs to help aide the transition to homelessness and back to independent living.
In talking with Christy Shaw, director of housing for the Greenville Shelter, she informed me that the Greenville Shelter itself works overtime to combat the hardships lived by so many residents. “The shelter works with several community agencies to reduce the effects of mental disorders and homelessness in general. Such programs include life skills training, financial management, and employment skills and education level upgrading. Anything we can do to help give them an edge and lift them up is very valuable for someone in this situation,” said Shaw. The availability of these resources is crucial to the future of the residents at the shelter. Their access to these programs determines their success in obtaining independent living or remaining homeless.
Homelessness itself is an ill-suited place for anyone to find themselves. However, when you add something as inhibiting as a schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, helping to guide someone towards rehabilitation is extremely difficult. Persons with mental disorders require on-going mental health treatment, assessments, and rehabilitation services to lessen the impairment of the mental illness on their daily lives. This is where the Greenville Community Shelter steps in to help.
As is required with any shelter in the United States, persons requesting help from the shelter must fill out paperwork. This paperwork goes through a series of questions requiring the person to tell any history they have had with mental disorders and prescription medicine used for the illness. After this screening process, persons are then assigned a case manager or social worker who assesses their living, physical, and mental health situation. The Greenville Shelter then determines if the client is in need of psychological help. If it is agreed upon, the client is then provided access to an accredited organization or professional. The shelter networks with Mental Health services and Public Health services to aide in the rehabilitation of those with mental disorders. The client must show compliance with the mental health assessment for up to 90 days to be considered for further help from the shelter.
The presence of mental disorders in shelter residents casts a shadow that interferes with their ability to obtain and take up the same opportunities for which social justice makes way. Their ability to reach their full potential is blocked by a mental restraint that they could not control if it were not for the help of organizations such as the Greenville Community Shelter.
This article should call attention to both the national issue of homelessness, the stigmas and stereotypes associated with those who are homeless and mentally ill, and the need to take an expedient stand to help serve these citizens. The continued investments put into such organizations benefit the homeless themselves, in allowing them to regain control of their mental capabilities as well as their independent lives. These programs also benefit society because they rehabilitate citizens who are trained mentally and physically to play an effective role in society, ready to achieve.
Filed under: 2007 Fall