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Health, Society

Mentally Ill and Homeless

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Amy and Ariana are friends of mine. They both struggle with mental illness but are different in one major way: Amy doesn’t have a home while Ariana does.

Amy I met while working at a coffee shop in Kansas. I’ll never forget our first meeting. She looked at me with tears in her eyes as she confided that she had no bed to lie in that night. Her long, brown-gray hair was pulled in a taut ponytail. She cried quickly and then not at all.

Mental illness and homelessness are inextricably intertwined.

Ari I met hanging out at a coffee shop in Chicago. Her red locks hung free from her head, whipping in the wind. She was cool and calm about divulging details of her personal struggle. Ari has heaps of familial support. Her parents are well educated, and when she had what she describes as “a complete mental meltdown,” her mother and father were ready to help her navigate the complicated mental health system—a system so entrenched in bureaucracy that just getting on Medicaid involves filling out and faxing almost the amount of paper it takes to compose a tree.

pills

In the photo: Medication for mental illness remains at a premium, restricted in accessibility especially for those who are financially insecure. 

A 2008 survey run by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found mental illness to be the third major cause of homelessness for single adults in over 25 major cities. On any given night, 564,708 people live without a home in the U.S. This number discounts the countless number of people lucky enough to surf couches, who are also, by the way, homeless.

This is where the numbers—not the people—get crazy. Of the 564,708 homeless citizens of the United States of America, 141,000 have manic-depressive illness or schizophrenia. That’s roughly 25% of the homeless community that struggles with severe mental illness. Only 6% of the entire American populace struggles with severe mental illness. The difference in numbers is staggering and indicative of a larger problem in our mental health system, where people suffering with mental illness are left to care for themselves on the streets. In Illinois, Lutheran Social Services, the largest social service agency in the state, announced that it would close 30 programs and cut 750 positions. In Kansas where I grew up, the situation is abysmally worse. 97 million dollars in budget cuts were made to higher education and, importantly for Amy, Medicaid.

Related article: “RUNNING WITH MINDFULNESS: INTERVIEW WITH TIMOTHY OLSON“

What is going on with our mental health system that this many people who need help are left to fend for themselves on the streets? Hospital beds for the mentally ill have decreased steadily since the 1970’s. Along with the decrease, there’s been a direct correlation with an increase in homelessness and crime. Getting rid of those hospital beds saved the failing system money in the short-term but cost taxpayers thousands of dollars in the long-term. A study from the University of Pennsylvania found that being New York City homeless costs a NYC taxpayer an average of $40,500 dollars per year for emergency room, hospital, shelter and prison stays. That number is astronomical for a city of 8.4 million.

Being homeless worsens already existing mental health issues due to the dangerous realities of homelessness. One-third of homeless women in Baltimore have been raped. Some of those women have reported being raped upwards of 17 times. These aren’t just statistics. These are the violent realities of life lived on the street. And being mentally ill only makes you more vulnerable.

For a full mindmap containing additional related articles and photos, visit #MentalHealthforAll . 

There’s the story of Albert Blanchard who started out being diagnosed with schizophrenia. His paranoia was such that he wouldn’t stay in a hospital due to thinking that the people there were trying to hurt him. So instead of opting for treatment, he lived on a slab of concrete. While living on his own, a young man named Eric Erwin set him on fire and then was let out on probation. Albert has since developed PTSD and has terrifying dreams about what happened.

Amy doesn’t do drugs, she doesn’t drink, she does smoke cigarettes (perhaps to relieve stress as she is homeless). She’s a normal person who is going through a rough time. But when she went to CVS to get her medication, it wasn’t pre-authorized yet. Amy didn’t know she just had to wait for the doctor to send the order in, all she heard was that seven anti-psychotic pills were going to cost her $300 she didn’t have, so she walked away from the counter and went to the shelter with nothing to abate her symptoms.

There is only one homeless shelter in Lawrence, Kansas. And it is located off of the highway. The shelter used to be located in the much easier-to-access downtown location but was moved due to residents being put off by members of the homeless community hanging out in their shopping and eating areas. Amy makes her trip either by a bus she can barely afford, or by foot. By foot the trip is long and dangerous. She gets blisters and calluses. In the winter months, there are rarely enough beds for her to get a spot (the shelter only serves 125 people at a time). On these over-full nights, she has to sleep slumped over in a makeshift tent under a bridge. When she does get a spot to sleep, she is mixed in with a variety of people—some of them are violent. This is not a place to calmly rest your head. Much of the homeless community in Lawrence opts to sleep during the day in the much better funded and impressive looking public library and stay awake and vigilant at night. This makes their search for work all the more difficult.

The biggest difference between Ari and Amy is family support and education. Ari went with her family to the CVS. Her mother helped her as she waited for pills in line. She had help navigating the mess of paperwork and phone calls that awaited her after her hospital stay.

hair up

In the photo: Freedom is a privilege—Ari wears her hair down, and Amy wears her hair up 

Ari wears her hair down, and Amy wears her hair up. This seems like a small distinction but maybe it is indicative of something more—because Ari has the benefit of being treated. She has the privilege of freedom as she deals with her mental illness. She has the safety of a home and family. Her hair flows freely. Amy has none of this. Her brown-gray hair will always be pulled taut away from her face as long as she is in danger, as long as she is trapped not only by mental illness but also by the truly horrific nature of homelessness. If we can speak freely about mental illness in conversation then perhaps we can do a little part in helping people like Amy remain off the streets.

Recommended reading: “CONGRESS IS ON THE VERGE OF PASSING A LANDMARK MENTAL HEALTH BILL” 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE BY IMPAKTER.COM COLUMNISTS ARE THEIR OWN, NOT THOSE OF IMPAKTER.COM.
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About the Author /

Alena Ivanov lives in Chicago, is very neurotic, and writes things sometimes (do you think she sounds weird?)

Comments(2)

  • Claude Forthomme

    July 12, 2016

    The contrast between Ari and Amy is devastating. And it is difficult not to get angry at the injustice of the situation, the tragedy of it – considering that with only a little organization and effort, it could be so easily solved, especially in a rich society like the American…

    • Alena R Ivanov

      July 12, 2016

      Absolutely! With the amount of resources we have at our fingertips it is a national disgrace that people like Amy don’t get the help they need.

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The food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions, to excessive and detrimental land and water usage, to chemical pollution. Given the challenge of feeding a growing world population whilst simultaneously needing to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, clearly we need to look at alternatives to “dinner as usual”. The contribution of livestock to global greenhouse emissions is estimated at between 14.5 – 18%. Fortunately, there are companies who are tackling this challenge head on and looking at how emissions from food production can be reduced. With consumer interest increasing in alternatives to meat and other protein sources, we’ve spoken to the founders of three companies. From the seemingly futuristic to the rediscovery of superfood trees, each company tackles this new drive in consumer interest in different ways.

Solar Foods, Finland

Dr Pasi Vainnika is the CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods. The slogan of the company is “Food out of thin air”. Pasi was formerly in charge of the single largest renewable energy program in Finland. However, when he found out that 20-25% of the emissions come from food, he realized that emissions from this sector needed to be addressed, as well as those in the energy sector. But with the growth in affordable and renewable energy – particularly solar energy– it led him and his team to question the possibility of producing food solely from energy, carbon dioxide, and water. It turns out, the answer is yes. Solein is a unique single cell protein. It is produced using a fully natural fermentation process like that of the production of yeast or lactic acid bacteria. The powder, which is produced from the process, is 50% protein, 5-10% fat and 20-25% carbohydrate. Most likely, the first product to reach the consumer market will be a replacement in existing plant-based foods. For example, using Solein in shakes or as an alternative to dairy in milks, yogurts, and even in breads and pasta. In the future, a lasagna could include the protein in all aspects of the recipe: the sauce, in the pasta sheets, and in the filling. Further into the future, there is also the possibility that it could be used as the basis for cultured meat production.
In the Photo: Solein Can be used in smoothies as a protein alternative. Photo Credit: Shawn Fields - Unsplash
To produce a kilo of the protein powder takes 10 liters of water in comparison to the 2500 liters of water for a kilo of soy or 15,500 liters for a kilo of beef. Electricity is the main raw material, and the plan is to source this from renewable energy sources. Additionally, Solein binds carbon dioxide rather than emitting it, easing pressure on land use. The product is currently going through regulatory checks and testing at the moment, with a plan to launch in 2021. NASA and the Soviet Union space programs had started to investigate in similar protein production for their expeditions in the past, but Solar Foods has brought it down to earth.

Higher Steaks, United Kingdom

Whilst some people are switching to plant-based diets and others have reduced their meat consumption, some others still want to keep meat in their diets but are looking for more environmentally friendly options. This is where lab-based meat comes in. Benjamina Bollag, CEO and co-founder of Higher Steaks, a UK-based company, believes that it is important to provide alternatives to meat with a lower carbon footprint, but that taste as close as possible to the real thing. She believes that the change required in human behavior to cut emissions will not happen fast enough otherwise. This approach is confirmed by research they have conducted. 52% of respondents confirmed that they would switch from conventional meat to the Higher Steaks alternative, with 21% saying they would prefer a plant-based diet. There are different ways of producing lab-based meat. The process that Higher Steaks is developing is based on pluripotent stem cells, which are taken from a small skin patch or blood sample. The meat that is grown is then shaped into products. Currently, Higher Steaks is working primarily on pork products.
In Photo: Higher Steaks will eventually release pork as its first lab-cultured meat. Photo Credit: Yvonne Lee Harijanto - Unsplash
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In Photo: Baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas
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In Photo: Closer look at the baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas.
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