Is There a Relationship Betwen Mental Health and Homeless?

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In this essay, the terms homelessness and mental illness will be defined. The cause of mental illness and that of homelessness will also be explored using different academic literature. The relationship between mental illness and homelessness will also be exploited using academic research materials to answer the question “Is a relationship between mental health and homelessness?”
The term homelessness is complex to define. Homelessness is defined in different ways in different countries. Merriam Webster (2013) defines homelessness as having no home or a permanent place of residence. Shelter (2013) also defines the term homelessness and describes homelessness as the condition of people without a regular dwelling, where this means any building, structure, manufactured home or mobile home, or part thereof, used and occupied for human habitation or intended to be so used as a sleeping place at night.
The causes of homelessness according to Shelter (2013), depends on a number of different personal and social factors and these factors can contribute towards people becoming homeless. These factors may include one or more of the following and starting with the individual factors , this may include drug and alcohol misuse, lack of qualifications, lack of social support, debts and especially mortgage or rent arrears, poor physical and mental health, relationship breakdown, and getting involved in crime at an early age .There is also factors from ones family background which includes family breakdown and disputes, sexual and physical abuse in childhood or adolescence, having parents with drug or alcohol problems, and previous experience of family homelessness with an institutional background including having been in care, the armed force...

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...icates that 95% of projects are catering for people with mental health needs and further research by Homeless Link shows that 7 out of 10 of homeless people experience one or more mental health problems. Their recent research findings on the mental health needs of homeless clients indicate that 44% of those with a mental health problem said they self medicate with drugs or alcohol; 35% of those with a mental health need said that they would like more support – including talking therapies and services for dual diagnosis; 60% of people in homelessness services have been found to be affected by complex trauma;14% of clients stated that they self-harm, compared with 4% of the population; one fifth of clients who had recently attended A&E had done so because of either mental health or self-harm; and only 10% of clients have additional support from mental health services.

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