Mental Illness & Substance Use Data from research conducted in the past five years indicates that: • About 30% of people who are chronically homeless have mental health conditions. • About 50% have co-occurring substance use problems. According to analyses of data from the 1996 NSHAPC: • Over 60% of people who are chronically homelessness have experienced lifetime mental health problems • Over 80% have experienced lifetime alcohol and/or drug problems http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf There are a few homeless dudes (60%, statistically; 85% are single) in the same neighborhood as my wife's business. If you make eye contact with them they shout WHATAREYOULOOKINGATFUCKHEAD!WANNASTARTSOMETHINGCUNT! and lunge at you. As you drive past them. I've had 'em jump out at me on my bicycle. I had my house broken into by ave rats (the privileged homeless). They stole about $4k worth of shit. And my toilet paper. And my diet coke. 'cuz they don't like shopping. Note - I helped count homeless one night. I put a social worker through grad school. And every Friday, for four years, I had dinner with a pair of psychiatrists that treated the homeless 50-60 hrs a week. For five years I worked nights in nightclubs in downtown Seattle, where I was surrounded by crack-addicted homeless going in and coming out. I'm not some college student seeing homeless people for the first time and feeling guilty about it. Sure - if it makes you feel better, be nice. If it makes you feel better, volunteer or shit, just give money. Union Gospel Mission has gotten a couple hundred bucks off me. But don't for a minute think that being nice and volunteering and shit will keep some meth-addicted schizophrenic from deciding you're smiling at him because the voices told you he masturbates to Bette Midler and you want to steal his fillings. U GO GRRLSara’s an avid foodie and amateur yogi with goals of healing her chronic illness holistically. When she’s not making a complete mess of her kitchen or trying to keep up with her personal health blog, she enjoys taking naps on campus, attempting to be punny on Twitter and searching for new street art downtown.