The Mental Health of the Older Homeless Population: Provider-Perceived Issues Related to Service Provision

Abstract

In this article I discuss providers of homeless services' perceptions of the mental health needs of individuals who are homeless and aged 50 to 64 as they relate to service provision.1 To accomplish this task, I analyzed fifty-six interviews conducted with providers of homeless services in the city of Chicago. These interviews were completed as part of a larger study conducted in collaboration with the coordinating body of the local homeless service system in an effort to better understand the unique issues affecting the older homeless population and to develop appropriate policy and programmatic responses to these issues. Issues providers most readily point to are important to understand when developing policy and programming because they are likely to represent problems providers most frequently encounter or that providers find to be the most difficult to resolve in their daily work. Qualitative analysis of interviews pointed to six recognizable issues providers were concerned with regarding this older homeless population and mental health, including: (1) specific mental health problems, (2) specific mental health subpopulations, (3) substance use/abuse, (4) therapeutic needs, (5) medication management, and (6) outreach and active engagement. Based on this analysis, policy and programmatic suggestions for the homeless service system are discussed.