Mental Illness Within the Homeless Community Sabrina Hua svhua 03.16.17

Homeless in Santa Cruz Did you know that the mentally ill homeless males are at a very high risk of getting killed by police? People with mental illnesses are 3x more likely to end up in jail than anyone else. (Source: Psych 170 Lecture). Here is a picture of some of the homeless population in Santa Cruz.

Above is a chart of how my perspective of homeless people have changed thus far in my life. I used to view them in negative ways because I was thought to think of them as the “criminal others”. However, university has changed my perspective and now my goal is to create policies that will help them become seen as valuable members of society, despite whatever mental illnesses they might have.

The New Asylums This is a great documentary talking about mentally ill people thrown into prisons. A lot of them are homeless.

The New Asylums Did you know? A lot of the times, homeless people who suffer from mental illnesses are incarcerated. In correctional institutions, they do not get the treatment they need. On top of that, the harsh environments of prison and jail only exacerbates their condition. Due to deinstitutionalization, homeless people always find themselves in prison because they do not a have a mental health facility to go to. Some homeless people even purposefully commit non-victim crimes so that they can go to jail, where they can have shelter and food.

Let’s wrap up this presentation, shall we?

Reason for this PowerPoint While this PowerPoint was made for an assignment, I wanted to take this opportunity to bring you awareness about the mentally ill vulnerable populations. If it inspired you to want to make a change, WHO's website for more information, because as bleak as the situation seems, we can all make a change!

Thank you for a wonderful class!