Review of “Homelessness and Mental Health,” edited by João Mauricio Castadelli-Maia, Antonio Ventriglio, and Dinesh Bhugra, 2022. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Cloth, 396 pages.
Mental illness can cause homelessness; and homelessness can cause mental illness.
This is a super book for all persons who deal with the complicated lives of persons living on the streets, surfing on couches, dealing with shelters, and sleeping on trains. Those are just a few of the places unhoused persons dwell and live out their days… waiting for something better… in most cases hoping to have a real home of their own.
This is an international connection of readings by experts in pretty much all areas of psychopathology with an emphasis on South America, some inclusion of India, and mention of the United Kingdom. There are some examples in several readings about challenges and remedies in the US.
Despite the lack of emphasis on US homelessness, the themes covered in the readings are universal. Social phobia, stigma, addiction, and other pieces of the mental illness puzzle are portrayed, explained, profiled, and discussed in several countries.
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One important aspect of the themes—starting with the first page of the book in the introduction—is that homelessness and mental illness occur in two directions:
Mental illness can cause homelessness; and
Homelessness can cause mental illness.
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This “bidirectional” relationship is discussed in several of the readings in very different settings. Those of us who try to help people on the street understand this complicated situation. We have dealt with everything from people who are a little sad, to often sad, to very sad, to suicidal. Add heroin overdoses, shoplifting, fighting, and booze and you have a typical homeless night for many – in Chicago, in New York, in Los Angeles, in San Francisco.
The relationship is also circular—mental illness causing homelessness causing mental illness, etc.
Figuring out how to help people without admitting there is an issue in the realm of neurosis—or psychosis—is foolish. We have to look beyond the stigma and deal with reality.
One important aspect of the book is there are TWO chapters on LGBTQ communities and good discussion of the youth who often wind up homeless. Often it is the people who should most be counted upon to help the LGBTQ youth and protect them who let them down. Mothers want them out of the house, fathers abuse them sexually and physically, siblings and friends harass them and damage them psychologically. The numbers do not lie.
There are huge problems in families who throw their children away. In trying to piece these young people back together, there are often many difficulties that have to be dealt with. Many foster families are also often to blame for harming young people—doing more harm than good—despite the supposed role of foster parents who are to assist and protect and guide their wards.
There are a lot of homeless children in the United States. It is a TRAVESTY.
Recent figures show there are over 16,000 homeless students in Chicago Public Schools (District 299) alone. Over 52,000 homeless children in Illinois.
Overall, there are over 59,000 native homeless (all ages) in Chicago—add 20,000 more recent homeless Chicagoans who have arrived here since August, 2022.
79,000 or 80,000 homeless people in Chicago now. Can you say, “CRISIS?”
I recommend this book to all people who attempt to help the unroofed out there—from counselors to social workers, and from professors to caseworkers.
Even if someone is NOT a mental health professional, they should read this.
Even if you do NOT have background in psychology, you should read this.
The book contains so many good and clear messages. It is generally accessible information with plenty of definitions. I urge you to add it to your personal or agency library.