Mentally ill face homelessness

Mentally ill people are not getting proper community care, says Shelter

Mentally ill and disabled people are ending up homeless as a result of failures in the community care system, says a leading charity.

Shelter says many patients are being discharged from hospital without adequate care and housing packages being in place to support them.

A survey of 50 of its housing aid centres in England and Scotland found more than 78% of the people given advice were discharged with no care or housing package at all in place.

Some had no home to return to.

Ninety per cent of housing aid centres had advised people who had been passed from one council department to another without being given the help they needed.

Even those who were helped with accommodation found it difficult to live independently because the support they required to avoid future tenancy problems was lacking.

The report, From Pillar to Post: Failing to meet the support and housing needs of vulnerable people, also states that housing provided for disabled people is often unsuitable and inaccessible, making it impossible for them to carry out even basic tasks.

Some 40% of aid centres had seen clients who had housing problems caused by a failure to provide adequate adaptations and 78% had seen vulnerable tenants being offered inappropriate permanent accommodation.

'Untenable'

The report also states that 86% of its centres had given advice to people who had difficulty proving they were vulnerable and needed help with housing, 66% had helped people who had been threatened with having their children taken into care because of homelessness and 82% said clients had been placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

Chris Holmes, director of Shelter said: "Many of the people Shelter works with who have a mental health problem or disability already face many obstacles in life.

"It is untenable that they are then left with no support and no roof over their heads."

He added: "Many vulnerable people often give up asking for help because they face what seems like an insurmountable battle when trying to access housing and care."

Shelter is calling on the government to tighten up the duties local councils have with regard to providing housing and care for people disabled and mentally ill people discharged from hospital.

A Green Paper on housing is expected in the next few months.

Crisis

A recent report by homeless charity Crisis says a third of evictions by local authorities are of vulnerable mentally ill people.

It says that, despite initiatives in some parts of the country that encourage better working between health, social services and housing, many mentally ill people are continuing to fall through the housing gap. Its Pressure Points report adds that housing is vital for mental well-being and, once made homeless, many mentally ill people may remain without permanent housing for several years.

Homelessness may also exacerbate their mental health problems and make it more difficult for them to access care, says Crisis.