What happens to homeless mentally ill people? Follow up of residents of Oxford hostels for the homeless

Abstract

Objectives: To follow up severely mentally ill residents of hostels for the homeless to determine their social and psychiatric outcome.

Design: Follow up at 18 months of hostel residents previously assessed with psychiatric and behavioural measures.

Setting: Two Oxford hostels for the homeless.

Subjects: 48 hostel residents previously identified as disabled by mental illness.

Main outcome measures: Current housing, admissions to psychiatric hospital, violent or antisocial behaviour, and score on standardised behavioural rating.

Results: 45 of the 48 residents were traced. 27 had remained in the hostels; only 10 had been rehoused, mainly in bedsits or with their families. 16 had a poor outcome as judged by death (four subjects), lengthy hospital readmission (two), marked deterioration in behaviour (six), sleeping rough (one), or disappearance (three).

Conclusion: More effort is needed to provide suitable housing for homeless mentally ill people.