I can't say why everyone who's homeless is so, but I can say why many mentally ill people are. In order to qualify for government assistance if you do suffer from mental illness, you must realize you actually are mentally ill. This is the biggest barrier for many of the mentally ill. If you don't think you're mentally ill and actually are, everyone who says you are becomes yet another antagonist in your grand conspiracy theory--so that rules out going to see a doctor to get a diagnosis, that the government requires in order to prove incompetence (the catch-22 of SSI and friends). A very common delusion of the mentally ill is that the government is stalking/torturing/raping/spying/etc on them and so the mentally ill will do everything in their power to stay away from government workers or officials (sadly, these delusions can become self-fulfilling prophecies after a while). At least in California, the law requires that a mentally ill person voluntarily seek medical help, so friends and family are left helpless to do anything for a mentally ill family member except to support them with money out of their own pockets--bringing the entire family into poverty. People who suffer from mental illnesses like schizophrenia will incur irreparable damage to their brain if left untreated for years or decades; this is a common fate.
Sadly, the only hope for many mentally ill people is that their families won't give up supporting them before they develop some sort of other physical disease from neglect of proper medical care, and can then qualify for government assistance under that disability instead of their mental illness.
This is the sad state of mental illness in America, the moral: if you show early signs of mental illness such as paranoia, anxiety, depression, compulsive or "antisocial" behavior, please do yourself a favor and go see a psychiatrist before it's too late. There is no safety net, just prevention--and FSM forbid you have a mental breakdown.
Thanks a ton for this info. It helps add to my knowledge of what's going on there. What's also sad, is that seeing a psychiatrist has it's own dilemmas attached to it. "If I see a psychiatrist, what will my friends think of me?", "If I see a psychiatrist, can I still get a government job?", etc.
Sadly, the only hope for many mentally ill people is that their families won't give up supporting them before they develop some sort of other physical disease from neglect of proper medical care, and can then qualify for government assistance under that disability instead of their mental illness.
This is the sad state of mental illness in America, the moral: if you show early signs of mental illness such as paranoia, anxiety, depression, compulsive or "antisocial" behavior, please do yourself a favor and go see a psychiatrist before it's too late. There is no safety net, just prevention--and FSM forbid you have a mental breakdown.