I hear so often that about 40% of the mentally ill are “homeless” (1). But I think this statistic does not consider the full picture.

First, there are homeless people who have had struggles or bad luck, and their resulting homelessness is a temporary situation. They want to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” overcome their struggles, seek employment (or continue to work and save money) and find housing again.

One famous person who went from homelessness to wealth was Chris Gardner. Gardner lost his job and soon went bankrupt in order to study full-time and compete for a job as a stock broker. His wife considered his goal as unrealistic as becoming an astronaut, and left him. Gardner spent months living in shelters and accepting free food until, against all odds, he achieved his dream job. He soon became exceedingly wealthy. (The movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” is based on his life story).

Then there is me. I never accepted free food while I was homeless. Instead, I ate food others had left, or searched garbage cans. I never accepted free housing, and I slept outside every night for over a year. My inability to accept help and antisocial tendencies were indicative of a severe mental illness.

Homeless people who make no effort to change their situations are sometimes called the “hardcore homeless,” or “permanent street dwellers.” These are the people who sleep outside for months or years and eat garbage as their primary food source. They have no desire or ability to change their situation. I was a member of this group of people. A 2003 study in Miami, Florida found that, of their “hardcore homeless” people, EVERY SINGLE ONE of them was mentally ill (2).

In 1993, a woman named Yetta Adams became one of many who froze to death while sleeping on a bench in Washington (3). Had I not been living in a warm climate, I wonder if I may have also died outside at night.

Saying that 40% of the homeless are mentally ill is not really representative of the homeless crisis. Of the truly homeless, the “hardcore” ones, the “street dwellers,” every single one of them has a serious mental illness. Perhaps if they could change their situations, they would. Since these people truly cannot help themselves, they need food, medication, shelter, and mental health services.

1. Lieberman, Jeffrey. “Will we realize JFK’s vision for the mentally ill?” October 14, 2014, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141014145433-125117017-will-we-realize-jfk-s-vision-for-the-mentally-ill
2. Torrey, E. Fuller. “The Insanity Offense.” New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. See p. 124.
3. Torrey, E. Fuller. “The Insanity Offense.” New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. See p. 125.