Putting policy into practice? Poverty and people with serious mental illness

Abstract

This paper addresses the effects of chronic poverty on people with serious mental illness. More specifically, we are concerned with the extent to which welfare restructuring, by deepening the poverty facing people with serious mental illness, undermines the expressed intent of mental health policy to improve the quality of life (QOL) of this population. The province of Ontario in Canada forms the setting for the study. The paper first examines recent trends in mental health care and social assistance policy in Ontario. While income support is consistently recognized as a core element of mental health care, welfare restructuring has led to a significant decline in the real value of income supports received by people with serious mental illness. The paper then examines the implications of this trend for the QOL of residential care facility tenants in Hamilton, Ontario. Here, the case study is explicitly connected to QOL scholarship. In addition, the study is grounded in an analysis of the broader transformation of the welfare state in Ontario. Interview data suggest that tenants experience chronic poverty that has a deleterious impact on multiple life domains including basic needs, family, social relations, leisure and self-esteem. Implications for research and policy are discussed. r

Housing for People with Serious Mental Illness: A Comparison of Values and Research

“…Regarding discrimination, Page (1977Page ( , 1983 has found in surveys in Ontario that landlords are less likely to rent a room or apartment to someone who mentions that they have had a mental illness. A major barrier to finding independent housing for people with serious mental illness is the poverty in which many consumers live (Wilton 2003(Wilton , 2004. In the U.S., Section 8 certificates have enabled people ''to pay a fixed 30% of their income for a private rental unit'' (Hurlburt et al 1996, p. 310).…”

“…The most clear-cut outcome reported in these studies is that consumers are able to maintain more stable housing and reduce homelessness and psychiatric hospitalization to a significantly greater extent than participants in comparison groups who received standard care or case management alone . In contrast to these findings, little research has examined ongoing issues of poverty that affect most consumers after they become housed (Wilton 2003(Wilton , 2004.…”

Efectos secundarios de la medicación antipsicótica y calidad de vida en pacientes con esquizofrenia latinoamericanos

“…Factores que influyen en la calidad de vida, como los encontrados en este estudio: desempleo, minoría étnica y bajo nivel educativo, refuerzan la idea de que los trastornos mentales y pobreza están estrechamente relacionados (Wilton, 2004;Krieger, 2007;Marmot, Friel, Bell, Houweling y taylor, 2008). lo que para algunos genera un círculo vicioso negativo "la pobreza engendra enfermedad mental y esta mantiene a la gente pobre, más pobre" (Wagstaff, 2002;lund, De silva, plagerson, cooper, chisholm, Das, Knapp y patel, 2011).…”

Ethics Related to Mental Illnesses and Addictions

“…Reflective of continued discrimination, "NIMBY" or "not in my back yard" is a common community response, opposing governmental or private agency housing initiatives for people with persistent health concerns, such as mental illnesses and addictions. People with mental health and addictions problems are at increased risk of living in poverty (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007;Hudson, 2005;Wilton, 2004). Schizophrenia, for instance, usually manifests in late adolescence or young adulthood, which means educational efforts are disrupted.…”