Poor housing harms mental health
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A Department of Health paper looking to improve mental health support has highlighted the problems of poor housing and homelessness.
New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health says ‘housing and mental health are closely inter-related’.
‘Mental health problems can lead to the breakdown of a tenancy or loss of a family home; being homeless, on the streets or insecurely housed can be very detrimental to a person’s mental health,’ it states.
Green space is known to contribute to improved mental health, the report notes, and the design of homes is important in preventing ill health.
The document includes a range of actions being undertaken by different government departments to improve mental health services, such as the Communities and Local Government department looking into housing design for older people and the impact of environmental events on mental health and communities.
The report notes homeless people often have chaotic lifestyles and are socially excluded meaning they may find it difficult to engage with services.
‘Their lifestyle and dual or triple diagnosis means their needs may not fit neatly into current, siloed service provision,’ it suggests
‘A shift towards coordinated treatment based on need rather than the acceptance criteria for services will help engage those who need our help the most.’
Mental health care providers should work closely with housing and homelessness agencies to focus on prevention and recovery, it adds.
Health secretary Andy Burnham said: ‘New Horizons combines service improvement with a new partnership of central and local government, the third sector and the professions with the aim of strengthening the mental health and well-being of the whole population.’
But homelessness charity St Mungo’s was disappointed the department had not appointed a lead minister on health and homelessness, as it called for in its Down and Out report last week.
This study concluded mental health should be tackled as a public health issue. It discovered rough sleepers can have poor access to GPs and a lack of high-support housing.
Charles Fraser, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: ‘There is much to be welcomed in [the Department of Health] strategy.’
But he added: ‘The strategy says that a shift towards coordinated treatment is “best achieved through local care networks”. From Down and Out, the evidence is that leaving it solely to local networks rarely works.
‘There is systematic failure at a local level to cope well with people with more complex needs. We urge the Department of Health to take top level responsibility for the most vulnerable.’
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Readers' comments (4)
Alan Savage | 08/12/2009 12:07 pm
I often wonder if the experts that undertake this research have a conscience in receiving vast sums of money for their services. You mean to say that someone has actually found out that if a person is homeless and freezing cold, it is detrimental to their mental health! Blimey.
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DavidJ | 08/12/2009 4:38 pm
Staggering information indeed. I have previously worked in an organistion providing for persons with mental health issues and evidence would suggest that continued drug use can be a contributing factor, along with alcohol mis-use, the follow on being the loss of housing and the spiral into further alcohol/drug abuse and thefore continued mental deteriaoration. That is not to say that all mental health issues are as a result of such abuse.
It has long been discussed the connection between housing and health (I recall back to my university days some years ago!!) however there seems little joined up thinking when these issues are discussed. Maybe if health invested in housing (even as 'projects'), with appropriate support funded, who knows the longer term benefits to those served by such housing, let alone the freeing up of resources to the NHS/PCT.
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nicola Rampling | 08/12/2009 9:24 pm
please take note of my comments
I am a 46 year old woman who has a very active and ebullient 10 year old daughter. I have a 'mental health label' personality disorder and cronic depressive episodes. I have worked full time in mental health from 2000 to nov2006 when my project was uncerimoniously closed by my empoyers the PCT. from 1996 till this year 2009 i was lviving in a one bed flat in a victorian conversion the space was adequate for a number of years then became a closed in space when i was not working and y dayghter was 8 overcrowding and disinterest by the housing association meant that the whole house was falling into disrepair. I became unwell and social services inervened bringing even more stress and a three month assesment of the whole of my life (not helpfull at all ) I was allocated a housing support worker and told to keep bidding on locata i was in a very vunerable space and very raw from the assesment and in a situatuin where any flat seemed like a good idea no consieration of ongoing mental health issues was taken by the association when it came to rehousing and vunrability I felt obliged because of my very screwed up state to accept a flat on an estate renown in the area for being isolated dirty and the flat itself smaller than my one bed with no storage space and walls mad of paper literally. noise from all round and my daughter being diagnosed with cronic dyslexiea has not helped my mental stae in any way and now social services have deemed me to be unfit as the services feel my state will never change. I cannot sleep or function in this rabbit huthc but the housing association fefuse to bring my banding back to the b band that it was as i am adequately housed. one starts to feel suicidal and from some one who used to work and bring up her child happily it is absolutely scanalous that housing associations do not give vunerable people an inch when it comes to changing their minds about where they end up living. I am in danger of loosing my daghter for ever because of my housing circumstances and the added label of mental health service user. I was in no fit state to move at the point when I did. Too many things happen in a short time and thsi is never taken into account by the proffessionals.
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Peter | 09/12/2009 8:51 pm
Nicola,
I am sorry to hear of your unfortunate circumstances and the predicament that you are in and even quite concerned that you were not correctly assisted by 'the professionals' especially during your move and to the area which clearly is causing you a great deal of stress and anxiety presently.
You will not lose you daughter because of your 'housing circumstances' as you are not homeless but if your child is not adequately cared for, then this will be an important consideration.
I presumed you have raised all these issues with your housing officer,if you haven't then you must do this first. I suggest that you request a transfer on medical grounds ( for both and your daughter) and if this could supported by your doctor, social services and any other professionals who are assisting you and your child to recovery. These people could enhance and support your request. You should also seek advise from your local Housing Option Team (your Council normally provides this service) and Citizen Advice Bureau to consider all the options that may be available to you .
You could also make an appointment to see your ward councillor and or your MP to discuss your issues if they you could assist.
This process unfortunately will take time once it gets into the system and there is a procedure in assessing your request and a decision will made upon the information provided. In most cases, there would be an appeal procedure if the decision was deemed unreasonable.
Good luck and I hope you and daughter will somewhere suitable soon.
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