Title: Mental Illness and Homelessness: Facts and Figures | Students in Mental Health Research
Headings: 
Mental Illness and Homelessness: Facts and Figures
By Mingu Kim '18 | Staff Writer
← Walk In Their Shoes: Homeless and Severely Mental Ill

Content: Studies show that psychotic homeless individuals have a higher chance of being physically assaulted. A study in Baltimore showed that nearly one-third of homeless women had been raped. Unfortunately, because of the increase in factors such as substance abuse, mentally ill, homeless individuals are more likely to be incarcerated. In fact, every single state in the United States arrests more mentally ill people than it hospitalizes. In one report, it was found that 17.3% of prison inmates with severe mental illness were homeless prior to being arrested and 40% were homeless at one point in their lives, compared to 6% of undiagnosed inmates. Homelessness and incarceration increases the risk of each other through a positive feedback loop, causing a cycle of hardship and uncertainty. This cycle that these individuals face between living on the streets and in prison causes emotional, financial, and physical stress for their families and the community at large. Therefore, mental health programs should provide plans for both treatment and housing. It has been shown that both treatment without housing and housing without treatment are ineffective for homeless individuals with mental illness. Services that aim to achieve serious improvement need to address both treatment and housing.