... although mental illness puts individuals at a greater risk for becoming homeless, poverty and a lack of affordable housing remain the principal causes of homelessness...
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Homelessness has definite psychological effects, ranging from the detrimental effects of disrupted sleep to the deep psychological trauma inflicted by chronic stress, instability, and exposure to violence. Sleep problems are rampant among homeless people living on the streets or in shelters, where there is constant noise, crowding, and interruption of sleep. On the severe end of negative effects, violent physical and sexual attacks are much more likely to be made on the homeless than on the general population. For example, a sexual assault is twenty times more likely to be made on a homeless woman than on a woman in the general population. These violent assaults result in considerable emotional and psychological trauma in survivors, often leading to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, suicide attempts, substance abuse and addiction, and further psychiatric symptoms. The death rate among the homeless is also three times greater than that of the general population, with many homeless people dying from preventable or treatable illnesses or from unprovoked violence. Homeless people with mental illness are even more vulnerable than other homeless individuals to violent attacks and death.
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According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, most homeless individuals with mental illness do not require institutionalization but would benefit from a supported housing program that offers mental health care and treatment. However, the number of affordable housing and community treatment services is insufficient to accommodate all the homeless who suffer from mental diseases. Additional resources are urgently needed so that the mentally ill homeless can have access to continuous treatment and therapy.