This week, we talked about drug addiction and homelessness and the attention, or lack thereof, that’s received by each. We watched a Ted Talk about a woman who was exhibiting signs of schizophrenia throughout her life and talked about the things that were and were not helpful for her as well as what seemed useful for most people that suffer from mental illnesses of their own. She talked about how going to therapy and taking medication was very helpful for her, but she also mentioned one thing that was more of a detriment than assistant to her was being restrained when she had one of her episodes. She noted that people die in restraints every day due to complications from being tied down, and that it does more harm than good.
Another topic from the week was the video production on Skid Row in California. Skid Row is home to the largest population of people who suffer from homelessness, doubling the amounts of New York and Chicago combined. The video talks about how 30% of homeless people in the country suffer from some form of mental illness, and talks about how these people never get the proper attention they require. Many are addicted to drugs as a result of their circumstance, and are simply labeled as addicts. During the video, we learn the story of a woman named Sharon, who was homeless on and off for about 25 years of her life. She was sleeping outside of a public library, couldn’t seem to get back on her feet and had lost the will to live but couldn’t find a way to end her own suffering. She felt trapped. But then she caught the break of a lifetime when she went to a treatment center and they helped her turn her life around. She got back on her feet, got herself a stable living environment and started working for the same treatment center that helped her get back on her feet. Sharon was lucky enough to receive this opportunity, but many people who suffer from homelessness, mental illness or drug addiction don’t receive nearly the amount of help they need. The “homeless”, the “ill” and the “addicts” are typically incarcerated or just out right discarded as they are often dehumanized and seen as not worth the treatment and care they deserve. There are treatment centers dedicated to addressing these issues and caring for those who need it and lack the resources, but clearly not enough is being done nationally to subdue an epidemic that has plagued the largest cities/markets in the country.
Vaughn S 