Fact: Not all homeless people are mentally ill

·       Mental illness – such as schizophrenia – tends to first occur when people are young, at a stage when people are completing education or starting a career.Mental illness can seriously disrupt this process and lead to unstable job and housing careers.

·       The majority of mentally ill people live in their own homes in the community and usually receive support from families and community health services.

·       A recent study has shown that only 30% of homeless respondents had mental health problems prior to becoming homeless.

·       There is evidence to suggest that being homeless impacts badly on people’s mental health – with 53% of homeless people in a recent study reporting that they developed mental health problems after becoming homeless.

 (Source: The Mercy Foundation ‘Myths about homelessness’ fact sheet)