by Harold Thompkins

Created on: January 22, 2011   Last Updated: March 02, 2012

Today there is a serious issue with severely mentally ill patients on the streets of America. This is not a new phenomenon. Hundreds of years ago many of the early settlers had mental illnesses. Many were sent to the colonies to rid the streets of the “mother country” of its unwanted members which included those who were mentaliy ill.

There were many cases involving people with mental illnesses that were punished as crimes such as witchcraft. Mental illness was misunderstood and frequently made those who were sick more vulnerable to witchcraft accusations.

Throughout history the mentally ill segment of our population has been an issue and a part of society that has gone through many phases and changes. There has been a revolutionary transformation from isolation, punishment, inhumane treatments to more current humane treatments. However, it is clear that new methods are needed. Many of the methods of handling the mentally ill have had negative effects on both society and the mentally ill.

The state of mental health systems has been a concern in the United States since the origin of the first settlements. This has created much concern as many communities are being impacted negatively by the delivery and management of mental health services.

Those who are mentally ill need to be treated and cannot be ignored.  In addition, we feel the impact of mentally ill patients being turned to the streets as the homeless populations and incarceration rates increase.  Further changes are needed to improve current methods to treat the mentally ill. Methods such as de-institutionalization and psychotherapy are being explored.

The manner in which mental health systems are delivered is problematic. The current evaluation of most mental health systems reveals that there is a need to provide better care for those vulnerable members of our society. There are several reasons that this is happening in my opinion.

The lack of funding to finance mental health services and programming, lack of treatment and late diagnosis of individuals on the lower end of the socioeconomic structure of most communities, the stigma surrounding mental illness, the de-institutionalization of the mental health system and criminalization of mental ill persons. 

Briefly look a little more in-depth into these issues:

Mental health services are expensive. Hospitalization, psychiatric care, medication, outpatient services such as monitoring and counseling can be

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>