Mental health program aids homeless

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer

A new state program is helping homeless people by screening them for mental illness and directing them to services, the head of the state's largest homeless shelter said.

Lynn Maunakea, executive director of the Institute for Human Services, said the state Health Department's Adult Mental Health Division has assessed nearly 300 women clients of IHS in the past two years.

About 80 percent were diagnosed as "severely and persistently mentally ill," a classification that qualifies them for state services such as treatment, housing assistance and counseling

Maunakea said IHS staff members have long believed that many clients have mental illnesses, but without a formal assessment homeless people had little access to appropriate treatment and service.

The state remains under a federal mandate to improve conditions for the mentally ill at the Hawai'i State Hospital and in the community. Maunakea said the changes have become more visible in the last two years, with the state spending more money and making much-needed changes.

"They have pretty much scrapped the old adult mental health division," Maunakea said, creating a new system with sufficient services in the community. "It's been pretty exciting."

Maunakea said the adult mental health division has assessed IHS clients and helped create an intensive case management team that targets individuals who appear to have a mental health problem.

Over the past two years, 273 woman clients of IHS have been assessed. Of that group about 130 are now receiving mental health services and about 40 have been placed in permanent housing, Maunakea said.

Health Department deputy director Michelle Hill said more people are getting the services they need.

"Right now, our system is trying to become more evolved and sophisticated at the community level," Hill said.

Of an estimated 6,000 homeless people on O'ahu, about half of them appear to have a problem with chronic mental illness or substance disorders such as drug or alcohol abuse, Hill said. "We want to give them support that will help their recovery," she said.

Hill and Maunakea stress a need for more permanent housing as a solution to helping homeless people with mental illness.

Once people don't have to move from place to place, they can find stability in treatment and that carries to other parts of their lives. "All they need is a place to live," Maunakea said.

Hill said some permanent housing is crucial to helping this population. While shelters fill a critical need, permanent housing offers hope for a more stable future, she said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.