Over the past several years of volunteering it has become apparent to me that persons who are homeless are often ignored. It seems they become “non-persons” in the eyes of the community in which they live. This observation took on new life as I began working in my internship placement. My internship was working with persons who are homeless and who are experiencing a severe and persistent mental illness.
Persons who are homeless and have a mental illness are often stigmatized and stereotyped. Prior to working within this particular group of people I myself held to certain stereotypes and still struggle now and again with attempts at making a person fit into a certain picture that relates well with an experience I have had before with another person who may or may not have had similar experiences.The plan that began to formulate was one that would provide education to the community about mental illness and would also create an environment where persons who are homeless and have a mental illness could get connected with a person as a way of regaining some socialization skills that may or may not have been exercised for a period of time.
The plan as originally considered has changed many times over due to the need to accommodate people. Rather than working with persons who are homeless and have a mental illness the project evolved into working with persons who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. This change came in part due to the reluctance on the part of homeless persons to participate and also due to the lack of being able to contact a homeless person on a regular basis. Another factor in this change was the fears of the community in that people in the community are uneducated as to the causes of homelessness and only view the symptoms and judge the person according to what their own personal schemas are.
Statement of Need
Persons who have been diagnosed with a mental illness often do not seek treatment until they have burned many, if not all, of their bridges. Of those who do seek treatment prior to burning bridges there is still a percentage that ends up becoming disenfranchised from their families and communities prior to stabilizing.
The process of stabilizing and learning to cope with a mental illness can be long and arduous. Articles and studies have been published that speak to the process of institutionalizing persons with mental illness. The term institutionalizing is not only used her to speak to what happens to relationships when a person is committed to a psychiatric hospital for periods of time, but also to the relationships that develop as a person works towards developing a stable life as they begin coping and functioning from this new perspective colored by a mental illness. Relationships with social workers, psychiatrists, counselors, and others are not, and should not, be the same as relationships between friends and family member.
Another area that would be addressed with this project is the need to educate the community about persons who are dealing with a mental illness. In creating an atmosphere of working together and answering questions along the way both groups of people would be strengthened, which in turn strengthens the community as a whole.
Socialization skills are an important part of maintaining integration in society. If these skills are not practiced it makes it more difficult to maintain a functioning role in society. This project is one that would facilitate the maintenance of societal roles and also be an intervention for those that are at risk of becoming marginalized by society.
Description of the Intervention
The intervention would be to connect persons who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and persons from the community in a way that promotes communication from both sides. The initial thought was one of mentoring a person diagnosed with a mental illness by a community member. This is not accurate in terms of description though. Upon reflection, it is better described as being an opportunity for those who are experiencing symptoms of a mental illness and have had difficulties with there relationships to practice their social skills and for the community members to have a better understanding of what mental illness is as a way of alleviating community fears and stigmas.
Evaluation of the Intervention
The intervention did not come to fruition this semester due to time and budget constraints. The idea of the intervention was received enthusiastically among professionals within the mental health field as well as others in the community who have daily interaction with persons who have a mental illness.
The budget constraints were and continue to be the biggest obstacle to this project. With the threat of state budget cuts, the effects are that agencies are tightening their proverbial belts and waiting to see what happens. Some budget cuts have already happened and shifts in personnel have made it difficult to access people. The budget cuts also seem to make people less willing to discuss the project in a serious way. The discussions all seem to start well and end with “it would be great if someone could get it funded”. This leads to the time factor.
Time is a precious commodity. This project is one that would require serious commitment from several persons over several months to develop and implement it. There are several people that are willing to verbally support this project, but none as yet that are willing to partner with me to implement it.
Reflections on the Project
At the outset of this project there were many people that I felt could be sources of information and assistance. It was ambitious from the beginning, but with all that has happened in the past several months it became an insurmountable task that would have had to have been accomplished on my own.
Reflecting on the goals and plans as written for Social Work Methods class, they still seem to be attainable, just not in the time frame as laid out. I will continue to present the idea to people and search for someone who will agree to work on the plan with me. Most of the people that I have presented the idea to have thought in the terms of costs involved in implementing the project. I still feel, that given the right supporters, it could be a low to no cost venture that would benefit the community as a whole.
The pursuit of the plan has been a learning experience for me - particularly in learning my own limitations. There is only so much one can do without the support and cooperation of others. This project is one that I believe in and will continue to pursue, whether it is by implementing it through a cooperative of agencies as originally planned or starting with a group of volunteers from a church.
References
Boydell, K.M., Gladstone, B.M., Crawford, E.S. (2002). The dialectic of friendship for people with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatic Rehabilitaiton Journal 26(2) p. 123-132.
Liberman, R.P., Koplowicz, A. (2002). Recovery from schizophrenia: a challenge for the 21st century. International Review of Psychiatry 14(4) p. 245-256.
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