Mental Health and Homelessness
In Los Angeles, there are 582,000 people that are experiencing homelessness. About 25% of those people have a severe mental health illness. Many people have misconceptions about the unhoused community and believe that it is simply made up of drug addicts and lazy individuals. However, all of them have stories, and most of the world would crumble under the same circumstances. Research has shown that trauma has a direct link to mental health. When you hear these stories, you understand that compassion for everyone is what is missing in the world, today.
The stigma surrounding mental illness is a big factor in the number of people that are neglected and abandoned. Those of us who care for people or have family members with mental illnesses are not properly prepared. It can feel like walking on eggshells and trying to contain a situation you have no control over; nor, do you possess the tools to truly be an asset. This tends to put everyone in a position of neither side knows what to do.
Our team’s mission focuses on the empowerment and advocacy of self-sufficiency for women in both unhoused and underserved communities. It is important to know the problems that these women face to figure out exactly what ways we can be of service to them. We host events centered around health where we incorporate yoga, sound baths, and meditation tactics. We understand that these forms of self-care can be neglected when servicing this community, but we’ve found that it has a grand effect on them. We know that we can’t simply eradicate trauma, mental illness, and things of said nature, but we can do our part in bringing together a community of people to assist in facilitating and hosting healing events. These events include affirmation sessions, yoga sessions, and any other practices that bring about mindfulness. The goal is to help the women see the possibility and feel empowered to change their lives by changing their mentality, first.
Doing the research and finding out the number of people dealing with mental illness and their lack of proper resources combined with a lack of community that has the capacity to truly assist them is an eye-opening experience. Sometimes, we can get so wrapped up in and accustomed to the mundane of our day-to-day that we don’t see just how hard someone else may have it.
It is very important to highlight the fact that so many people deal with mental health issues. We may not focus on men as much, but we do still serve them when the event is co-ed and for the entire community. When we speak to some of these men, they let us know just how abandoned and neglected they feel. They vocalize wanting to feel like they are wanted, protected, and able to express vulnerability without feeling like people will use it against them. So, any non-profits or organizations that focus on men’s health please bring your services to the amazing men experiencing homelessness.
We all need to walk around with more compassion for everyone around us because you never know what people are going through. You never know how far a smile and a “hello” can take a person. It really can be the smallest gesture that brightens someone’s day and could potentially save their life.