A Look at Homeless Mental Health Services in California

Homelessness and mental health go hand-in-hand. In fact, mental health is the second leading cause of homelessness, following behind medical bills. Unfortunately, medical access and mental health also go hand-in-hand, and due to the limits countless Americans face with healthcare, many homeless individuals struggle to tend to the mental health conditions that hold them back to begin with.

Although these realities create a vicious cycle, there are some resources available that may be able to assist if you or someone you love is ever in a desperate situation such as homelesslessness.

Practical Life Skills Help

Sometimes, deteriorating mental health conditions can have a direct negative impact on a person’s ability to function independently when it comes to basic necessities like cleaning, cooking and taking care of one’s self. For some people, no one ever taught them the skills, but for others, a mental block prevents them from accessing the more productive part of the brain that allows them to do it. For this reason, resources such as mental health services for the homeless Sacramento County address this critical need with practical life skills classes.

Other California Homeless Mental Health Resources

Because homelessness is so multi-faceted, leaders from many states such as California have tried to address the problem through various policies and government programs. A major funding source that makes this possible is the federal government. In California, homeless residents also have access to some mental health resources through the state’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness grant. In place since 1991, this grant covers a variety of referral, outreach, treatment and training programs. To learn more about services available under PATH, contact your local community health department.  At the end of the day, homelessness is one of the most challenging realities that countless Americans face for many reasons, but untreated mental health is almost always an underlying factor.