Mental health of homeless people hit hard during Covid-19 pandemic
Study The Public The Homeless Arising Found Mental Impacted Had Sleeping Negatively And Of Health People The On Restrictions Of Out Rough That Health Using Challenges Services
The mental health of homeless people has been impacted by social isolation linked to measures aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19, with one leading charity organisation saying more mental health outreach is needed.
A new study by Merchants Quay Ireland looked at the lived experiences of 10 people known to homeless services.
Only three participants were securely housed and all reported a severe mental health illness.
Of the remaining seven participants, five were living in a hostel (two of whom had a severe mental health illness), while two were sleeping rough (living in a tent) at the time of data collection last year.
The public health response to Covid-19 regarding the country's homeless population has been praised in a number of studies, incorporating greater access to drug treatment and resulting in a very small number of positive tests for the coronavirus and a very low number of deaths.
However, the study, carried out by independent researcher Kathyann Kelly, found that the challenges arising out of public health restrictions had impacted negatively on the mental health of people using homeless services and sleeping rough.
In some cases, it caused fresh anxieties and worries, and in others, it exacerbated pre-existing mental health problems.
One interviewee said he had suffered delusions and at one point had contemplated taking his own life, and Ms Kelly said two of the 10 interviewees had since been hospitalised.
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Ms Kelly said sometimes people "fell between two stools" because of co-existing mental health issues and substance abuse problems. She said the study also highlighted how - particularly for those with serious, diagnosed conditions, such as schizophrenia - there had been a lack of early detection and support.
"It would make you cry," she said. "They have enduring, severe mental health issues and it would not have been picked up. They felt they didn't fit in." She said one woman had reported "losing control" and ended up in prison for public order offences, but her condition was not diagnosed.
The main drivers of homelessness for half of the participants were related to family breakdown associated with severe mental health issues. Ms Kelly said that public health restrictions had meant the curtailing of face-to-face contacts, had limited their ability to access support services and restricted their social circles.
She added that even online supports were out of reach for some clients, who at times struggled to find a way to charge their phone.
She said: "The thought of catching Covid was often very low on their list of priorities".
One interviewee said the pandemic had "made everything harder".
"You stand out more, you stand out as being alone because you’re the only people outdoors.
MQI Chief Executive Paula Byrne said increased, ringfenced funding was needed to support mental health outreach, as well as substance-free/recovery support hostels.
Ms Byrne said for clients of MQI services, "isolation is now longer - I think the longer it goes on the harder it is for people, especially those with the added issues of substance abuse and mental health".
* samaritans.org / call 116 123