Mental Health and Homelessness Law
President John F Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act into law in 1963 which revolutionized and improved mental health care in America. Prior to this law, there were limited community-based treatment facilities. Therefore, the mentally-ill population was being institutionalized in hospital settings with no thought of community re-entry plan. Following this law, those patients were able to reenter the community while still receiving mental health treatment. This was also the beginning of improved psychiatric medications and creative therapeutic interventions. These implementations assisted in the reduction of mental health costs and helped with the negative stigma of mental health care treatment. …show more content…
Deinstitutionalization is not new, nor has it proved to be an adequate solution for chronically-ill mental health clients. As early as the 1970’s, reforms were needed to address how community mental health centers managed the chronically-ill. It was believed that institutionalization was the contributing factor to chronic mental illness and that the burden could be easily remedied by community health centers. The complexities of the issues were not vetted appropriately. Social welfare and housing needs were not accounted for and posed significant concerns. Many of the chronically-ill ended up homeless due to the deinstitutionalization. The reasoning for deinstitutionalizing was partly to shift the financial costs associated with mental health services from the state to federal programs. As a result, federal entitlement programs were needed to support this population and the birth of SSI, Medicaid, and Medicare Social Security Disability Insurance were implemented to support and improve the quality of life for the chronically-ill. However, these entitlements were consistently under attack by conservatives looking to balance the budget on the backs of those who rely on them to survive. (Goldman & Morrissey, 1985, …show more content…
In addition, those that seek treatment may not have health insurance or access to treatment. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory indicates ones physiological needs must be met prior to advancing forward and meeting one’s next set of needs. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (2015) reinforces this concept by suggesting that once housing, food, clothing needs are met, individuals can then begin to develop a plan for education, employment and /or mental health or substance issues
President John F Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act into law in 1963 which revolutionized and improved mental health care in America. Prior to this law, there were limited community-based treatment facilities. Therefore, the mentally-ill population was being institutionalized in hospital settings with no thought of community re-entry plan. Following this law, those patients were able to reenter the community while still receiving mental health treatment. This was also the beginning of improved psychiatric medications and creative therapeutic interventions. These implementations assisted in the reduction of mental health costs and helped with the negative stigma of mental health care treatment. …show more content…
Deinstitutionalization is not new, nor has it proved to be an adequate solution for chronically-ill mental health clients. As early as the 1970’s, reforms were needed to address how community mental health centers managed the chronically-ill. It was believed that institutionalization was the contributing factor to chronic mental illness and that the burden could be easily remedied by community health centers. The complexities of the issues were not vetted appropriately. Social welfare and housing needs were not accounted for and posed significant concerns. Many of the chronically-ill ended up homeless due to the deinstitutionalization. The reasoning for deinstitutionalizing was partly to shift the financial costs associated with mental health services from the state to federal programs. As a result, federal entitlement programs were needed to support this population and the birth of SSI, Medicaid, and Medicare Social Security Disability Insurance were implemented to support and improve the quality of life for the chronically-ill. However, these entitlements were consistently under attack by conservatives looking to balance the budget on the backs of those who rely on them to survive. (Goldman & Morrissey, 1985, …show more content…
In addition, those that seek treatment may not have health insurance or access to treatment. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory indicates ones physiological needs must be met prior to advancing forward and meeting one’s next set of needs. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (2015) reinforces this concept by suggesting that once housing, food, clothing needs are met, individuals can then begin to develop a plan for education, employment and /or mental health or substance issues