Stigma is in the eye of the beholder: a hospital outreach program for treating homeless mentally ill people

Abstract

Homeless mentally ill people, particularly those in large urban centers, are one of the most stigmatized groups in American society. The author describes a specialized short-term hospital treatment program initiated by New York City that helped reduce stigmatization of this group by medical personnel. He suggests that training staff workers and increased government commitment to such inpatient programs with outreach capacity can foster a change in attitude among treaters, thereby improving treatment outcome of the homeless mentally ill.