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Homelessness Awareness Week is November 13-21, but the HomeLink team at UNC’s Center for Community Mental Health focuses on supporting homeless and precariously housed people 365 days a year. In the United States, over half a million people experience homelessness on a single night (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2020). Many more people are precariously housed, meaning they are at risk of losing housing soon. Further, it has been estimated that 76% of homeless individuals live with a mental health condition (Gutwinski et al., 2021).

From personal experience, I know how easy it is to become homeless. My family was homeless throughout much of my junior year of high school. My mom was a single mother who struggled with a mental health condition that disrupted her progress every few months. When she was doing well, she was a great mom, friend, daughter, and employee. People naturally gravitated to her because of her strength, sweet spirit, and willingness to work hard for whatever her family needed. However, things always took a major turn when her mental health declined. She struggled with maintaining relationships and jobs, which would cut us off from social and financial support.

Ten years later, I am fortunate enough to lead the HomeLink team that addresses homelessness in Orange and Chatham counties. HomeLink is funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Through diligent advocacy and evidence-based practices, our team connects homeless or precariously housed people living with serious mental illness to services, benefits, and housing supports so they can live the life they want to live. HomeLink has served nearly 200 clients since we started in 2018, and we plan on serving many more in the coming years. Our moonshot is to create a world where individuals with serious mental illness have a safe, secure place to call home and the support to thrive in their community.

Our clients come from a range of backgrounds and situations. Some are students who are balancing heavy course loads and jobs. Others are escaping abusive relationships, where their partner controls all the resources. Almost all of them have suffered from an unthinkable amount of trauma. However, the people we serve are incredibly resilient. They continue to push forward when everything is standing in their way.

A common misconception I want to address is that people who are struggling are looking for “handouts”. Instead, most want a “hand up” out of their situations. I encourage you to watch this short clip from Dr. Brene Brown on empathy vs. sympathy for what I mean here. For example, clients who are physically and mentally able to work desperately want employment. However, they may lack transportation or clothes for an interview. Our team gives them a “hand up” by teaching them about public transportation routes and by thrifting business casual clothes so they can make it through the doors at their interviews. They are the ones who ace the interviews and work hard to keep their jobs. Clients want housing and stability but may not understand the process for obtaining a housing voucher or have the means to furnish a new place. HomeLink guides them through the voucher application, housing search, lease-signing, and moving, but our clients drive the entire process. Most people do not want us to do things for them; they want us to empower them to get things done themselves.

This week a client shared some wisdom that will stick with me for a long time. She said, “You have to give it to keep it.” I asked what she meant, and she said we have the responsibility to share what we learn from our struggles, ascension, and healing with others. I am incredibly blessed to be in the position to give back the way others gave to my family many years ago. I see the same energy in our current and former clients who have made it out of their hardest times and now volunteer to support people who need their guidance, wisdom, and encouragement. If you or someone you know would like to connect with the HomeLink program, please contact me at kiana_davis@med.unc.edu.

 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Community Planning and Development. (2021). 2020 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S. 2020 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S. | HUD. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2020-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html.

Gutwinski, S., Schreiter, S., Deutscher, K., & Fazel, S. (2021). The prevalence of mental disorders among homeless people in high-income countries: An updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis. PLOS Medicine, 18(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003750