About Homelessness

Since I wrote Behind the Signs with the full intent to open 'closed' minds on the complicated issue of homeless persons - what put them there and what their previous lives were like - I have decided to not only include posts on this blog that pertain to the book, but to the title as well. Now that I am deeply involved in the emergency warming shelter for the homeless, I am learning even more in-depth information that pertains to these individuals. During two recent activations of the shelter, there was one individual that seemed to be a trouble-maker of sorts. The last activation became violent and needed to be de-fused before something really bad happened. I decided to go deeper into the issue of mental illness among homeless persons and I have found some interesting data:

Most homeless persons are men, but about 10 to 25% are women, of whom about half string children along with them. Significant mental illness pertains to about 30 to 35% of the homeless which includes, but not limited to: Functional Psychoses, Acute Distress, Personality Dysfunction, and Co-morbidity.

Co-morbidity - Smaller conditions that exist primarily due to a larger condition that sometimes results in self-medication. (This co-morbidity is what I was explaining in my book):

Behind the Signs - Chapter 42, A Way Out

There is much, much more to the old stereotypical view of the homeless than meets the eye. Those stereotypes only touch the surface - not reaching to the very root of the existing problem(s).

Until Next Time,
Kirk Toncray
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