Please see the Note at the end of the following table,
which is also applicable to this table.

MHS provided services for 12,930 adults, and 2,695 children during the 2008 fiscal year that ended 30 June 2008. This represents an increase of 15% from the total number of clients served during the 2007 fiscal year. The number of homeless persons served increased 16% from the prior year, largely because of an increase in the number of persons served by our outreach teams, and also because the North Point Transitional Housing Center opened in January 2008.

Homeless assistance programs serve homeless adults who have a severe mental disability. Outreach programs and the Community Women’s Shelter also serve those with other disabling conditions. The most frequent psychiatric disorders among those who participate in our homeless assistance programs are schizophrenic disorders, and substance-use disorders. Many homeless clients have a chronic physical illness, such as diabetes. Sixty three percent are male, 64% are African-American, and the average age is 33 years.  Homeless clients are further described in a section below.

Crisis programs, such as the MHS Mobile Crisis Team, serve children and adults who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis, or children who have been traumatized by violent events. Clients of crisis programs have demographic and diagnostic characteristics that are much more heterogeneous than those of homeless clients.

Information about the number of MHS clients, by program, is presented in the table above for the most recently completed fiscal year. Below, a table of the number of clients served during the last five fiscal years is presented. You will also find links for outcomes, definitions of homelessness and severe mental disability, and local counts of homeless persons in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Clients of MHS Homeless Assistance Programs.

Most homeless individuals who participate in MHS psychiatric and supportive services have a severe mental disorder -- most often, a schizophrenic, schizoaffective, or bipolar disorder -- that results in profound cognitive and functional impairments. Most of those affected do not seek healthcare and supportive services, and must be identified by outreach efforts.

Their untreated disorders can lead to hallucinatory experiences, illogical thinking, delusional beliefs, social misperceptions, and grossly disorganized conduct. More than half of the homeless clients who participate in services use alcohol or drugs, further compounding these disturbances. Unable to negotiate basic social transactions, attempts to work fail. Unable to organize thought and conduct, efforts to find help are ineffective. Lengthy or repeated homelessness is often the end result, especially among those with no family or social support.

Disorganized conduct sometimes accompanies severe mental disorders that are untreated. This conduct often leads to repeated involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations or incarcerations. After discharge to the community, many of those who lack supportive influences do not continue treatment, in part because it is difficult to obtain treatment while homeless. Being homeless requires spending a good part of each day walking from one meal site to another, and then securing a shelter bed or a safe place to sleep at night. These demands do not leave much time to make scheduled appointments during traditional Monday through Friday 9 to 5 working hours, especially since most offices where treatment can be obtained are not located near meal sites or shelters.

Intense social discomfort is a feature of some mental disorders. Those affected are often socially isolated even from other homeless persons. Many prefer to sleep alone on the streets rather than confront the social demands of negotiating a space in a shelter. Those with mental disorders also contend with the stigma of having a mental illness. Many also have a history of arrests or convictions for crimes ranging from trespassing and vagrancy, to major felonies. Their criminal history, even if quite remote, makes them ineligible for some forms of housing support.

MHS provides assertive outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and comprehensive clinical and supportive services. These services help clients to achieve safe and permanent housing, and to learn the skills needed to recover from their mental disorder and live with independence and dignity. We respect the choices and perceived needs of our clients, and encourage participation of the person's natural support system. We strive to offer services that are responsive to clients' ethnic characteristics and cultural beliefs, and that support our clients' freedom to choose among alternative interventions, while acknowledging a responsibility to protect the safety of our clients and community.

Copyright ©
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons, Inc. (MHS)
1744 Payne Avenue; Cleveland, Ohio 44114 U.S.A.
216-623-6555 - TTY/TDD: 216-623-6540

The URL of this page is
http://www.mhs-inc.org/Fy2003b.asp
It was most recently updated on 25 September 2007.
We welcome your comments.
Please write to Joel[at]mhs-inc.org