There has been plenty of news recently about Anchorage’s plans for the homeless — which is great. But one topic that isn’t discussed at all is people’s mental health. One-third of the homeless nationwide suffer from a mental illness, based on numerous surveys. Some became homeless for that reason, and some got worse from their unstable, unsanitary situations.
Dorrance Collins had it right in her recent letter (June 30) that when the U.S. closed large psychiatric facilities, we never transitioned as promised to community-based care. The American Psychological Association states, “The remediation of homelessness involves focusing on the risk factors that contribute to homelessness.”
Even the homeless facilities Outside that ADN reporters recently visited were offering no help for mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety disorder and major depression. One place was treating behavioral health — habits such as addiction, which may be overcome with supportive help but don’t need the same level of care as severe illness. Anchorage will not even offer help for addiction, the mayor says.
Jaclyn Welcome’s sister was trying to find a mental health or substance abuse program for her, but there were long waiting lists. Now she is dead, shot at random. If more facilities were available, Jaclyn might be reunited with her family by now.
— Vivian Mendenhall
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.