Homelessness In Mental Health

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Research Study This study aims to better understand the prevalence of mental health within the homeless population. In order for this to be achieved, this study will survey a population of homeless people who are at risk of being homeless, have been homeless in the past, or are currently homeless. This is the dependent variable for this study so this criterion must be met in order for them to be part of the sample. Being at risk for homelessness will be determined by their income level being at or below federal poverty level. Being homeless is defined by residing in a temporary shelter, hostel, hotel or bed and breakfast, temporary living with a friend, sleeping on a different person couch every night or sleeping on the streets. The participants for this study will consist of those who come to the Mary 's Shelter 's community outreach program over a …show more content…
This program focuses on helping mother 's in need care for their young children by providing essentials such as clothing, food, and personal care items. This population consists of multiple ethnic backgrounds and cultures. People who attend this program can live anywhere in the Lehigh Valley as long as they can access the shelter location. These participants will be given the survey attached which consists of a mental health screening tool and will be measured using the DSM-IV. The mental health screening tool will be measuring symptomatology of generalized anxiety disorder and major depression. These diagnoses were chosen because of their consistent presence in published literature about mental health and homelessness. This study could not test for more diagnoses that had advanced diagnostic criteria due to not having access to a professional trained in diagnosing. The intention of the survey is also to be brief and easy to answer in order to maximize the number of participants completing it. These mental health results will be the independent variable

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