Invisible Disabilities

Just as we are bringing homelessness to the spotlight, I also want to focus on mental health as they are commonly both related. Below are some statistics from the mentalhealth.org website:

I want to talk about a common theme I have witnessed in regards to homelessness. In this blog, we talk about "overt ghosts", in literal terms meaning, invisible in plain sight. I want to bring close attention to another aspect that is also invisible, regarding, invisible disabilities. A vast majority of homeless people suffer from many disabilities which cannot be observed just by mere appearance. Mental health plays a big role in the cause of the pain these vulnerable people go through in daily life, sometimes without even realising themselves, that they have these health issues. There should be a focus in providing aid to these individuals but also, taking further action to tackle mental health. Examples of these illnesses are: depression, anxiety, schizophrenia etc, people just like you and me, are quick to judge and label these people as "crazy", but we cannot know the true facts of their situation, mental well-being or past.

These people lack the assessability to medication and psychological treatment they need urgently. I believe that there are two main objectives that we should attempt to reach; one is raising more awareness of the effects of mental health, and that it can affect, even more so, the most vulnerable of people. Secondly, we should treat homeless people like humans, rather than part of the street or the environment, but instead, try to have an open conversation with them only if they would like too. We must not be patronising or opposing on to them as not all that have mental issues would like to speak about them or about their past.

Just because these issues are not apparent does not mean they are non-existent!

I have used the website below to gather statistics and information, I would recommend you take a look if you would like more of an insight: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-homelessness