Older approaches to homelessness required people to achieve sobriety or enter treatment before being moved into permanent housing. Under Housing First, people receive support to stay in their homes and are later paired with services such as health care, substance abuse treatment, and job counseling.
Decades ago we made our criminal justice policies tougher, but in a way that turned out to be neither just nor equitable. As the prison population has soared, we've come to realize our justice system is also terrible for your health. And the forces driving lockups and bad health are often the same.
Many homeless people have severe mental disorders yet remain on the streets for months or even years. The challenge for social service providers and authorities is that these vulnerable and sometimes volatile people often refuse help.
Among Ventura County’s chronically homeless, 37 percent reported a mental illness in the 2015 count. Some officials believe the real percentage is likely higher because the annual survey relies on homeless people self-reporting mental illness, and some may not realize it or don’t want to admit it.
In many African-American communities, mental health issues have a history of being under-treated and under-diagnosed. KALW's Leila Day talks with local psychiatrist Dr. Loma Flowers about the reasons why many in the black community may still resist therapy.
The National Association of Black Social Workers has found that African-Americans experience better treatment results when paired with clinicians of similar race and background. There’s a strong need for black clinicians, but there aren’t always enough available.
Even though African-Americans are more likely to report major depression, only around 7 percent actually sought treatment, according to a 2011 CDC report. That’s compared to 13.6 percent of the general population. Leila Day of San Francisco's KALW tells the stories behind the numbers.
Reporter Alayna Shulman profiles two women living with mental illness in rural northeast California, where services can be scarce. “You’ve just got to keep going, and you’ve just got to cling to the hope that things are going to get better," one woman says.
The roster of mental health workers in the rural areas is alarmingly small. And with too many people seeking help and few professionals to offer it, experts say the results are predictable: lengthy wait times, fragmented care and — in some cases — patients giving up hope of finding treatment.
California's Alameda County is trying a new angle to improve mental health care in black communities by tapping into African-American churches. Once members receive special training, their churches are declared places that can offer support and connect people to resources to find help.
