how does mental illness and homelessness correlate
Not surprisingly, mental illness often prolongs homelessness. Approximately 26 percent of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 66 percent live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
Physical & Mental Health. Poor physical health is associated with poverty in general but seems to be more pronounced among those who are without homes (APA, 2010). Rates of mental illness among people who are homeless in the United States are twice the rate found for the general population (Bassuk et al., 1998). 47 percent of homeless women meet the criteria for a diagnosis of major depressive disorderâtwice the rate of women in general (Buckner, Beardslee, & Bassuk, 2004).