Erin was asked to be a guest columnist as part of our ongoing Unhoused series. She was given the following writing prompt:
“What is dividing us on the issues of mental health and homelessness?”
Within the past year, the issue of homelessness has become an increased concern for residents of Mansfield and Richland County.
It seems I have not been able to attend any meeting without having someone bring up the topic.
For some, it might seem like this was never a significant issue before, but suddenly, it seems to be prominent throughout the downtown area.
For those of us who work in social services, unhoused people are a daily concern. We have people coming through our doors who are unhoused or living in situations which are not adequate to meet their needs every single day. Many are “couch surfing” or living out of cars.
Some are living in shelters when availability allows and, sadly, under bridges or in abandoned buildings when there is no room in these shelters.
People do the best they can to survive with whatever resources they have available to them.
Imagine, now, that the person trying to navigate homelessness and finding a place to stay is also struggling with mental illness.
Perhaps the person hears voices which tell them not to trust others who may offer help. Or maybe they feel as if the air in a particular apartment building is not safe or clean, so they feel it is better to be outside rather than risk poisoning through the vents of the apartment.
It could also be the person has called the police too many times on neighbors due to paranoia, so the landlord evicted them, leaving them with no other option except to live on the street.
For some, there are traumas which remain undisclosed and may never be understood by others they encounter.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates about 20-25% of those who are unhoused also suffer from mental illness (SAMHSA 2011).
In contrast, only about 6% of adults in the U.S. are identified as being severely mentally ill (NIMH 2020). These adults are often people who have a history of trauma, and they are at even greater risk of experiencing trauma due to their mental illness and instability.
These confounding variables can make it extremely difficult for people to find the supportive services they need during this tenuous time.
For many, this lack of stability leaves them unable to maintain treatment, which only exacerbates their mental illness. Even if they receive social security benefits, the lack of an address means they are unable to receive them, making it impossible to secure any kind of residence.
In addition, if one of the requirements for housing is to have a security deposit and one month’s rent, if one does not have income, then there is no way to obtain housing.
For some, the lack of ID is also a barrier, as no one can rent an apartment or get a bank account or even get a job without some form of ID.
A few years ago, a man was found sleeping on the steps of a government building. He had no ID except for a social security card. It was not clear whether the social security card was his or not, as he was not going by that name but by a different one.
He was not making any sense and could not tell the officer who found him the current day or the year.
After Catalyst staff met with him, he was hospitalized and then came to the Catalyst Stabilization Unit.
When encountering people in this stage of mental illness, our first concern is to get the person stabilized with mental health symptoms.
We also have to begin the process of helping them to meet basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter.
Without an ID, we have to begin by doing research: Where were you born? If no social security card, how can we get one? Have you applied for social security supplemental income before? What kind of work can you do? Where have you lived in the past? What housing resources have you used?
Think about all the paperwork to be filled out when doing any one of these tasks. Now imagine either being paranoid of people’s intentions, or seeing or hearing things that aren’t there, or not responding to the name given to you on your birth certificate.
These challenges make it very difficult to achieve the stability people need.
This June, Catalyst will partner with Mansfield Police to conduct outreach to those who are unhoused in the downtown area. This will be possible through funds secured by the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and the Richland County Commissioners.
The goal will be to identify those who might need treatment services.
Behavioral health staff and police working together will hopefully spread a sense of safety and good will, as sometimes an individual might feel more comfortable talking with a police officer or might feel more comfortable around a police officer if a non-law enforcement person is with them.
This partnership has served us well when encountering severely mentally ill individuals in the community, so we hope to find new ways to engage those in need and connect them to the services they might want or have utilized in the past.
Thankfully, we are lucky to have a wealth of options in Richland County to serve those who struggle with behavioral health issues. While we cannot force people to utilize these services, we can walk alongside them as they work to meet their basic needs.
Catalyst staff can refer and connect these individuals to a variety of resources throughout the county.
As we begin this collaboration, we ask all Richland County residents to recognize the unique challenges being faced by individuals in our community and to continue to support all the social service agencies assisting those in need.
We are grateful for your support and thank you for your care and concern for the marginalized among us!
