homelessness and deinstitutionalization

A detailed Summary of homelessness and deinstitutionalization

Deinstitutionalization- a term popularized in the mid fifties to early seventies, was an experiment involving the release of some 830,000 mental patients. By reducing state mental hospitals by 60%, this ideology was found very appealing by Liberals due to mental patients receiving their freedom (Website 1). It was also liked by conservatives because of the large amount of money that would be saved by cutting the mental health budget.

A very debatable question arises when analyzing this, and the upsurge of homelessness. Is the increase of homelessness due to deinstitutionalization? I believe that homelessness is not a result of deinstitutionalization, but rather in the way it has been implemented. Approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (Website 2). According to the Federal Task Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness, only 5-7% of the mentally ill homeless need to be institutionalized (Website 2). A majority of mentally ill can live within the community with the appropriate supportive housing options (Website 2). That is where the problem lies. The mentally ill individuals, who have been dependent on all aspects of an institution

that some mentally ill need to reside in a long-term facility. Some individuals will never adapt to society and are not capable of functioning as a member of the community on their own, on a daily basis. For those who are I believe that the whole process of deinstitutionalization needs to be rethought. The emergency homeless shelters and the short lived institution visits just aren't working. These individuals need to be embraced by the community not shunned because a difference they have no control over. With the right amount of financial support, guidance, and medication I believe we would see more somewhat dependent mentally ill individuals.

ance of helping to create a community status role for the mentally ill was overlooked. Once this became apparent, community mental health centers were very resistant to providing services for them. States were also extremely reluctant to distribute funds for these community-based services (Website 3).

(Website6). http://www.flashl.net/~rwcarlso/larry.htm

Once released from an institution a mentally ill person, without the support of the community and much needed medication, might find themselves feeling very scared and threatened by interactions with the community. This leads us to another problem, which is crime and the mentally ill. About one thousand people in the U.S. are murdered by severely mentally ill people who are not receiving treatment. These killings are about 5% of all homicides nationwide, and help show once again how important it is to follow all the steps of deinstitutionalization. How do you charge someone with a crime that suffers from a s

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Approximate Word count = 1098
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous