Eddie Hudson knows his struggles with mental illness helped put him on the street, and he sees fellow homeless people who are going untreated for theirs.
"I see people who are living in the woods," he said during a rainy afternoon Monday at Garden City Rescue Mission. "It is a big problem here."
Some students at the Medical College of Georgia want to help with that. Five students in the School of Medicine received a $5,000 grant from the American Psychiatric Foundation's Helping Hands Grant Program to perform mental health screening of the homeless in Augusta in hopes of connecting them with services.
Part of the grant, for instance, will help with bus vouchers to Serenity Behavioral Health Systems, which is far from downtown, where many of the homeless congregate.
"We don't know who in Augusta needs mental health services," said Adriana Foster, an assistant professor in MCG's Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior.
Recent outreach efforts to the homeless for these services could use some help, Dr. Foster said. Second-year medical student Anna Moise said the students' research showed there could be a lot of people who need them.
"What we found is that in general a lot of the homeless population has mental illness," she said.
Dr. Foster said estimates are that 75 percent to 79 percent could use some sort of mental health service. Mr. Reynolds said at least 20 percent of the people who pass through Garden City have already been diagnosed with some kind of mental health issue.
Many "don't feel comfortable to come" to a screening, Dr. Foster said. "You have to come mingle with the folks who are homeless for them to trust you."
That might be a little uncomfortable for medical students, said Gareth Fenley, a certified peer specialist with MCG who was once nearly homeless herself and has been diagnosed as having mood disorder with psychotic tendencies.
"Maybe, because it is such an unfamiliar situation, folks might have a difficult time just relating to the homeless as people," she said. "People are people."
It's one reason Ms. Moise and her fellow students thought it would make a worthy project.
"We thought it would be a great opportunity, not only for the homeless population but also for the students in our class, just to get a really good experience with a population that we don't really get in contact with much," she said.
The students began their initial screenings, which included Mr. Hudson, on Monday.
He said he served in the Persian Gulf War at age 19 and the experience left him with post-traumatic stress disorder and manic depression. The screening was a reminder that there are services out there that could help him get back on track with his mental health and with housing.
"Being a homeless veteran, those are some of the issues I'm faced with right now," Mr. Hudson said.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
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"What we found is that in general a lot of the homeless population has mental illness," she said.
WOW! Who'd have thunk it?
Aww, I know Eddie,. took him to Huddle House for a hot meal. Sad to see he's still on the streets..
"Dr. Foster said estimates are that 75 percent to 79 percent could use some sort of mental health service. " The other 21-25% are alcoholics/drug addicts.
I think that if we really look into it, the Commissioners, the School Boards, etc. has a lot of mental illness and should be screened. Who'd have thunk it?
"certified peer specialist".....????Just what does one need to do the be certified ?
Where are the families of these homeless?
In some cases the family doesn't know where the relative is. In some cases they have no family or the family has given up because they either don't know how or don't care how to handle their mental illness. Whether it's because they won't take their medication or can't afford it, these individuals can not function in a normal society and without assistance of some kind they will remain out on the streets. Sad.
i know this man as well.....he is always asking me for money when im downtown.
EFT might could be used for these folks. It is free to learn how to do it and it has had amazing results. I took some courses on it and was quite impressed. It has been used on some vets with good results.
By all means, soldout, call the Rescue Mission. Volunteer your services.
Having spent many years in Europe, I don't recall ever seeing a homeless person. I know it is mainly the fault of the individual for being hooked on drugs or alcohol, but I still feel sympathy for them and wonder why their families don't try to find them. The young folks doing the screenings are to be applauded but I don't think their 5K dollars is going to last long. But if they are able to help just one person get the help they need, the students should be as proud as if everyone got help. Hats off to them, it is hard to find kids with a head on their shoulder any more.
Finally, thank God, someone has started to worry about mental illness - and it's MCG and students who care. MCG also took over the beleaguered Georgia Regional Hospitals. A certified peer specialist is someone who has been there and recovered, gotten enough training to work with people who need them, and can relate well with those who need treatment because they have been there. They are a lot of help ot the professionals, too. Many of the mentally ill don't realize they need treatment. God speed to the students!!!
A doctor once told me, "The ones that realize they have problems, those are the ones you can help. They want to get better, they will keep their appointments, they will take their meds. The truly mentally ill are so sick that they don't even realize how sick they are, and it is very difficult to treat them."
This is such a good thing. Mental illness is a disease and no one asks for it. No one ever would ask for it. So glad that Homeless with MH issues will get a little help.