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Follow-up of chronically homeless mentally ill men
C L Caton1, R J Wyatt, A Felix
1Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
Objective:
To supply information on the efficacy of on-site day treatment for homeless mentally ill men in shelters, the authors followed up homeless mentally ill men 18 months after placement in community housing.
Method:
The 42 subjects had been evaluated before and 6 months after entering an on-site day treatment program. The authors reinterviewed 34 of these patients again 1 year after the first follow-up to determine housing status, hospitalization, aftercare, criminal justice contacts, income, and employment.
Results:
By the 18-month follow-up the positive effects of the program at 6 months had deteriorated; 44% of the men had returned to shelters at some point during the follow-up period, and the number of men with criminal justice contacts had increased to a proportion exceeding that before the program. A concurrent diagnosis of substance abuse increased the risk of homelessness during follow-up.
Conclusions:
These findings underscore the need for innovative treatment and support services for the homeless mentally ill who have concurrent substance abuse.