Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:1639-1642
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Follow-up of chronically homeless mentally ill men
CL Caton, RJ Wyatt, A Felix, J Grunberg and B Dominguez
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
OBJECTIVE: To supply information on the efficacy of on-site day treatment
for homeless mentally ill men in shelters, the authors followed up homeless
mentally ill men 18 months after placement in community housing. METHOD:
The 42 subjects had been evaluated before and 6 months after entering an
on-site day treatment program. The authors reinterviewed 34 of these
patients again 1 year after the first follow-up to determine housing
status, hospitalization, aftercare, criminal justice contacts, income, and
employment. RESULTS: By the 18- month follow-up the positive effects of the
program at 6 months had deteriorated; 44% of the men had returned to
shelters at some point during the follow-up period, and the number of men
with criminal justice contacts had increased to a proportion exceeding that
before the program. A concurrent diagnosis of substance abuse increased the
risk of homelessness during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These findings
underscore the need for innovative treatment and support services for the
homeless mentally ill who have concurrent substance abuse.
