When Rei Scott discovered himself in an unsafe dwelling scenario that severely impacted his psychological well being, he went to a psychological well being emergency middle to hunt assist. Instead of connecting him to a housing program, he was woken up in the midst of the evening and forcibly despatched to an inpatient facility.
Rei, a graduate of Mental Health America’s 2022-2023 Young Mental Health Leaders Council (YMHLC), is now safely residing in a transitional housing program in Columbus, Ohio. But he is aware of that his experiences navigating social assist companies – which, in response to him, “ranged from mediocre to re-traumatizing” – weren’t acceptable. That’s why he’s working to enhance these techniques for different individuals dealing with the identical pressures he has.
Rei is finding out social work at The Ohio State University, and he serves on the chief board for Students with Psychosis and the youth advisory board for Community Shelter Board. He sees a connection between the continued crises in housing and psychological well being.
“I’ve seen a lot of stigma when it comes to things like personality disorders or schizophrenia within the systems that I’ve been in. When you are stigmatizing people who have these mental illnesses that can be connected to trauma, you are not truly being trauma-informed,” says Rei.
“We know that mental health conditions can make you more vulnerable to becoming homeless, but it’s also been shown that homelessness can lead to developing or worsening mental health issues.” – Rei Scott
Safe and secure housing is a primary want, and it may be troublesome or unimaginable to care to your psychological well being if that want isn’t met. Cyn Gomez, a graduate of the 2020-2021 YMHLC, is aware of this firsthand. He confronted housing insecurity as a first-generation school scholar at UC Berkeley, and his work would greatest be described as intersectional activism, organizing in his low-income housing group and the higher Bay Area.
“As someone who’s been homeless before, when you’re not able to have your basic needs met, I think your degree of personhood is scaled back significantly because you’re no longer autonomous. You no longer have the ability to find comfort in a space that you can call your own,” says Cyn. “Even after I was able to find housing, my anxiousness around the sense of home is something that I still grapple with.”
“You get a degree of trauma from being in a position of extreme need, when you’re just hoping that a space decides that you’re worthy enough of taking up a room, or a bed, or some kind of resource.” – Cyn Gomez
While searching for secure housing, Cyn was related to the Berkeley Student Cooperative. He went on to function home president for a yr and a half, tackling intercommunity battle on the unit stage. Now, he serves as a board consultant, the place he advocates for the wellbeing of your complete co-op and represents them in exterior affairs. An important element of the Berkeley Student Cooperative is the truth that it is student-run and student-owned.
“What that meant for me early on was getting involved. I really wanted to support cultivating that community, seeing what we needed to do to keep housing costs low and ensuring that we’re undoing anti-Blackness and anti-Indigeneity in our co-ops,” says Cyn. “We have to acknowledge the gaps in how we’re showing up for our members and the gaps in resources that we should be offering. We’re really trying to imagine what housing can look like beyond just providing you somewhere to stay, but really investing in your wellness and your survivability throughout college.”
Cyn noticed the best way that the co-op’s construction might mirror dangerous inequities that exist in different social techniques. For instance, the group got here to understand that the constitution for his or her substance-free home was putting college students underneath a really punitive system. When enforced, there have been severe repercussions surrounding the soundness of a scholar’s housing – which disproportionately impacted college students in restoration from substance use issues.
This sort of strict standards can gatekeep companies from the individuals who want them probably the most. People with substance use issues, who’re justice-involved, or who’ve stigmatized psychological well being situations can all be made ineligible for assist. When housing is conditional on issues like employment or schooling, it may be much more inhibiting.
“I think it’s inherently traumatizing to be housing insecure.” – Rei Scott
“When you are homeless, you’re reliving a traumatic experience every day, so trying to do other things like keep a job or continue your education can be really difficult,” says Rei. “Most of the people I have met who are housing insecure or have been on the streets, are looking for jobs, trying to get an education, and working really hard to get out of their situations. But systemic pressures are just so much that it’s almost impossible to get out of.”
“There’s a huge stigma when it comes to homelessness. There are people who say that there are a lot of resources out there, and people just aren’t trying hard enough,” says Mariama Bah, a graduate of the 2022-2023 YMHLC and founding father of Nation of Diversity. “In reality, especially with COVID, everyone is dealing with some kind of [pressure]. A lot of people lost their jobs. A lot of people can’t afford their homes anymore. They have to go through a whole procedure, and sometimes they have to wait for months and months to get the resources they need. That discourages them from trying to get help.”
“I see the overlap between mental health and our basic needs crisis, our housing crisis, disability justice, and so many other interconnected struggles for multiply marginalized folks,” says Cyn. “How are we taking into account all of these various intersections of harm that often get siloed into their own struggles? We don’t necessarily see the ways in which they can compound or make folks’ lives harder or their mental health worse.”
“It’s not just housing. It’s the degree of personhood. It’s investing in the whole human and not just the body on the sidewalk.” – Cyn Gomez
In Cyn’s opinion, it’s not sufficient to throw sources on the problem of homelessness with out individuals and their challenges holistically. It’s one thing Mariama has echoed all through her work with unhoused communities.
“It’s about relationship building. When I first started out, I would give out money and food and other resources, but I realized that I have to build a relationship first in order to know where they’re at mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually,” says Mariama. “When we do street outreach, they’ll tell us their problems and be very open. I’ll take them to a restaurant or cafe where we can sit down and actually have a one-on-one conversation. Then I can keep up with them and reach out again.”
Housing insecurity exists on a spectrum, and it may possibly take totally different kinds – from couch-surfing to sleeping out of a car to dwelling on the road. Cyn is aware of that his expertise is only one of many, and a part of what he’s making an attempt to do by his activism is to develop class solidarity throughout the Bay Area.
In the summer time of 2022, building was set to start on new college housing on the People’s Park, a web site with a legacy of activism and protest. Sacramento State Police had been known as as Cyn and different college students protested on the park’s barricade.
“[The People’s Park] is a national historical landmark, and I would say the university has taken it upon itself to weaponize the community in the name of housing, and it has really divided the student body around it,” says Cyn. “I think that that’s been one of the most frustrating things because it directly intervenes in the solidarity work that naturally happens between students and the unhoused or non-student population.”
Cyn and their colleagues are urging the school to demystify plans for the dorm’s low-income housing, together with particular standards unhoused group members must meet with a view to entry the deliberate on-site supportive housing.
“We have to remedy the fact that this is an unhoused encampment, too. It’s a really strong pillar for me to see that students continue to show out and put their bodies on the line [for the People’s Park],” says Cyn. “For me, it’s really important to recognize that we are visitors, and we are gentrifiers as well – even as low-income students, we are still playing a harmful role to the community that’s naturally here. What does it mean for us to take up so much space, and how do we change that relationship and atmosphere?”
“Know that you are still worthy of resources. You are still worthy of life. You are still worthy of access to shelter. Don’t give up, and reach out to the folks who are opening up their arms.” – Cyn Gomez
All three youth leaders emphasize the significance of discovering group assist whenever you’re dealing with housing and psychological well being pressures. For Rei, that was on-line communities like Students with Psychosis. For Cyn, it was the group of mutual support that had invested in him – and that he had gone on to put money into. And for Mariama, it got here within the type of peer areas like Nation of Diversity’s Circle Speak program.
“Peer support and doing art allows us to open up about how we’re truly feeling and not feel like we’re alone. Sometimes we end up literally crying because we’re in a safe space where everyone can just express themselves without judgment,” says Mariama. “It helped me open up myself when I didn’t have the funds for therapy. I feel like everyone needs this [kind of space.] where people can come together.”
“Even if you haven’t found it yet, there are people out there that see you. You are valuable regardless of what these systems tell you or how they divest from you,” says Cyn.
This Mental Health Month, Mental Health America invitations you to Look Around, Look Within to find out about how your environment can impression psychological well being. Learn extra in our 2023 Mental Health Month toolkit.
Keep up with our featured youth leaders:
Rei Scott at @sealikesword
Cyn Gomez at @thecyngomez
Mariama Bah at Nation of Diversity