Urgent government action needed as mental health problems among rough sleepers continue to rise
06 July 2009
New figures 
show there was a 15% rise in the overall number of rough sleepers in London in the last year - and the equivalent of five new rough sleepers on London's streets every day. London's largest charity for homeless people, St Mungo's, is warning that mental health problems amongst rough sleepers and vulnerable people has reached critical levels and needs urgent attention.
St Mungo's is concerned the government's target of ending rough sleeping completely in the capital by 2012 may not be achieved unless more is done to break the link between mental ill health and homelessness. The charity, which is in its 40th anniversary year, says latest research amongst its clients showed 40% diagnosed with depression and 22% diagnosed with schizophrenia. St Mungo's believes this is just the tip of the iceberg and many more could be suffering with undiagnosed mental health issues.
The growing concerns about the complex needs of homeless people has prompted St Mungo's to use its Action Week from 5-12 July to launch a peer research study and a £1 million Mental Health Appeal.
Charles Fraser, St Mungo's Chief Executive, said: "The numbers of new rough sleepers on London's streets is worrying. We must not let this upward trend continue. Many are living on the streets with serious diagnosed mental health problems - receiving little or no treatment and under increasing pressures which could make existing conditions worse.
"We're calling for more targeted action to help rough sleepers and homeless vulnerable people. We need to ensure we focus not just on getting a roof over people's heads but also on improving access to appropriate health support services. Homelessness is not just a housing problem - increasingly we feel that the responsibility for tackling it should sit with the Department of Health. We need a joined up approach with staff trained to detect problems and homeless people getting the treatment they need.
"In the past year we've seen the number of rough sleepers rise at a rate equivalent to five new people per day. In these difficult economic times, we have to take real action to support these people and ensure they have the best chance of getting off the streets quickly and for good."
This week St Mungo's launches:
"Happiness Matters" - a peer research study where people with experience of homelessness interviewed 103 people either sleeping rough, living in St Mungo's emergency shelters, hostels or high support housing, as well as some formerly homeless people now living in their own accommodation. A further 97 residents completed a questionnaire about the links between mental ill health and homelessness. Among other findings, this highlighted:
- 85% had either a diagnosed mental health problem or had concerns about their mental health
- 13% of interviewees mentioned feeling suicidal at their worst
- 75% had sought help for a mental health problem but almost one in ten said they had come away with nothing
- 65% said they either drank or took drugs 'because it is easier than coping with my life'
In the Happiness Matters - Full Report, one homeless person calls on the Prime Minister to "take all the thousands of pounds from the MPs that are claiming for second homes and expenses and re-channel it into dedicated mental health project for vulnerably housed and homeless."
A £1 million Mental Health Appeal - donations will help to provide crisis intervention support, to improve housing projects for people with severe and enduring mental illness, and to promote wellbeing and offer more staff training. This builds on innovative St Mungo's projects such as our Lifeworks psychotherapy project, and a dual diagnosis project for those with mental health and entrenched substance use needs.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- For further information, contact Judith Higgin, Media and Campaign Manager, St Mungo's, on 020 8762 5645, email judith.higgin@mungos.org
- For an Executive Summary of "Happiness matters: homeless people's views about breaking the links between poor mental health and homelessness", see http://www.mungos.org/
- For more about the £1 million Mental Health Appeal and activities during St Mungo's Action Week 5-12 July, see http://www.mungos.org/
- The government's New Horizons process aims to promote good mental health and well-being, whilst improving services for people who have mental health problems but did not explicitly mention the particular case of homeless people. St Mungo's also initiated a Call for Evidence this spring to seek out current best practice and expert views from professionals, with the final report to be published in October 2009.
- New annual figures show the number of people rough sleeping in London rose by 455 to 3,472 between April 2008 and March 2009, according to the 'Street to Home' annual report, produced by CHAIN/Broadway. Of these, 1,400 were people who were rough sleeping in previous years and around 2,000 people were new to the streets. That equates to almost 40 new rough sleepers a week, or five new rough sleepers a day. See the Street to Home report at http://www.broadwaylondon.org/CHAIN/NewsletterandReports
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