You may have heard that the Supreme Court is considering a case that would allow cities to effectively make it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside. What the Supreme Court doesn’t seem to understand is people who are chronically homeless often need much more than a shelter bed, they need mental health treatment. I’m thrilled that Newsweek let me share my take on why we need a treatment first policy to end homelessness. #scotus #mentalhealth #homelessness #policy
Erin Wachter
1mo
Thank u so much for sharing you and your families struggle. I admire your vulnerability, your work at the Brc and I am sure this is the tip of the iceberg. Bottom line your actions are contributing to change as one who is in the mental health system your words r on point and the struggle is real. Thankfully I am not homeless at the same time I am always mindful this could be me . This is why daily I contribute I some form to helping those that are struggling . Thank you for making the wold a better place.
Keep speaking truth.
Wow. I didn't realize this. I can't fathom this becoming a reality. What do we expect them to do
Julie Gerstein
2mo
Thank you for this.
Imagine, a year from now, you are looking back at the best year of your entire life ��� What did that year look like? How did you spend your time?
2moThank you for talking about this important issue. I have two people close to me who are experiencing homelessness, one whom I think treatment first may be better: if they were willing, which they are not - so there is no point in denying them the dignity of housing based on that, in my opinion. The other, housing first - if they could find it for their circumstances. Having pets is one of the things that can be a major obstacle for both of these individuals, especially for those whose pets have given them stability and a reason to keep going. There needs to be more solutions that takes that into account, including for abuse survivors who escape abusers, only to have to deal with a complicated system to get shelter while restarting their lives. They shouldn't be asked to dump their pets at an animal shelter or risk them falling into the hands of abusers when the person experiencing homelessness may have often faced such traumas themselves. I do not know what the solutions to all of these problems are, but I do know our country is often failing people with mental health struggles and treating those who can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps as if they are without worth. Being a human being, in my eyes, should equate to having inherent worth, and with that, to having access to their basic needs being met - like housing, clean water, food, and Healthcare, including mental Healthcare (fully covered and available to them), even if they have mental health issues or coinciding addictions. In any case, I am glad you continue to bring this topic of discussion into the public sphere to increase awareness and understanding.