(Aug. 24, 2015) Our nation’s public libraries are increasingly becoming daytime shelters for people who are homeless, severely mentally ill and in need of treatment (“Libraries on the front lines of the homelessness crisis in the United States,” the Conversation, Aug. 18).
About half of the library's regular patrons are either mentally ill or homeless, estimates one librarian, who described some of the patrons to the Conversation.
“Big Bob,” a large man in his 40's who frequently regales the librarians with accounts of his exploits as a member of special ops forces in the military.
John is a reclusive man always attired in combat fatigues and heavy-duty army boots who turned out, in the bitterest cold of winter, to be suffering from severe frostbite.
"The library often serves as a destination for people who have no place to go," said one librarian who has worked at a public library for over 30 years. "Some may resent the presence of [people with mentall illness] in the library, but as far as I am concerned, everyone deserves a chance to use it."
People with untreated serious mental illness make up a third of the total homeless population, and an even higher percentage among homeless women and among individuals who are chronically homeless.
Typically, the majority of homeless are able to secure shelter for the night, but many shelters do not provide daytime accommodations.
So, they come to the library to seek warmth and shelter, to use the restroom, to access the internet, and to read, among other things.
But people with mental illness were not always such a prominent fixture at public libraries across the country, the librarians say. Their presence dramatically increased two decades ago, with the closure of a local psychiatric hospital.
The problems facing libraries are part of the larger issue of the lack of available treatment for people with severe mental illness, especially for those who are discharged from mental hospitals without any follow up care. The result is an increase of people with mental illnesses who are homeless and turn to libraries and other public facilities because they just need somewhere to go.
The solution to this problem will be found when our mental health system assumes its rightful responsibility to care for people who have mental illnesses so severe they don’t understand they are sick.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center backgrounder on homelessness to learn more about the consequences of untreated serious mental illness.
(Photo: John Armato/Flickr)
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