Homelessness and Mental Illnesses Decreases Life Expectancy

134,000 Californians do not have a place to call home. Homelessness continuously increases for those living with mental illnesses. Over 25% of the homeless population lives with a mental illness. Undesirable living conditions and lack of resources for living and treatments causes a 25-year lower life expectancy for those living with mental illnesses and homelessness. In California alone, there has been increasing rates of severe mental illnesses among the homeless population in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Fresno, and San Francisco. California's homeless population has increased by 13.7% in one year alone. (Housingwire) Our housing crisis creates challenges for those living with mental illness who are not able to support themselves.
There needs to be more proactiveness from the community about spreading awareness of both homelessness and mental illness. The widespread presence of mental illness is higher in the homeless community versus those that are house. There are higher rates of self-harm, personality disorder, and suicide attempts in the homeless community. The lack of resources to maintain living in a household and treat mental illness very much go hand-in-hand. Lawmakers are creating proposal to tackle these issues and bring solutions. In order to create these changes, we need to bring more awareness to our communities about these issues and have open conversations about them.