Homeless Causes Mental Illness

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. On any given night up to 600,000 men, women, and children go homeless in our country (Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1). Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, that must be dropped. With …

…have been shown to be inordinately depressed, anxious, and phobic. (Homeless women, 20). This research does not deny that factors predisposing certain people to mental illness exist. Rather it demonstrates that economic stress correlates with the appearance of mental illness (Street Lives, 120). This shows that although mental illness may be present in a mild or unnoticed form before a person becomes homeless, the stresses of homeless life can activate, accelerate, or even cause many psychological disorders.