Homelessness and mental illness

A representative sample of men, newly arriving at a Salvation Army hostel, was interviewed and compared with the total resident group of men who had spent one year or more in the hostel. Thirty-one per cent fulfilled the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM: 111R) criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia and more than half were not in contact with psychiatric services. This suggests that a significant number of male schizophrenics are lost to follow-up and become homeless. Implications for service provision are discussed in the light of these findings.