Concentrating on three main themes, this text argues that it is the rise in community opposition across race, class, and region that should be considered in terms of the changing social construction of stigma.
Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.
Chronic homelessness is a highly complex social problem of national importance. The problem has elicited a variety of societal and public policy responses over the years, concomitant with fluctuations in the economy and changes in the demographics of and attitudes toward poor and disenfranchised citizens. In recent decades, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the philanthropic community have worked hard to develop and implement programs to solve the challenges of homelessness, and progress has been made. However, much more remains to be done. Importantly, the results of various efforts, and especially the efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans in recent years, have shown that the problem of homelessness can be successfully addressed. Although a number of programs have been developed to meet the needs of persons experiencing homelessness, this report focuses on one particular type of intervention: permanent supportive housing (PSH). Permanent Supportive Housing focuses on the impact of PSH on health care outcomes and its cost-effectiveness. The report also addresses policy and program barriers that affect the ability to bring the PSH and other housing models to scale to address housing and health care needs.
There have always been homeless people in the United States, but their plight has only recently stirred widespread public reaction and concern. Part of this new recognition stems from the problem's prevalence: the number of homeless individuals, while hard to pin down exactly, is rising. In light of this, Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether existing health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas, and through an analysis of papers written by leading scholars in the field.
Introducing the debates that inform current social geographic research and theory and interrogating the historical development of social geography, Social Geography: A Critical Introduction explores how urban and rural spaces are organized in ways that construct and maintain social inequality. Puts into context the assumptions of various strains of social geographic thought as they have developed historically Assists students in addressing key social geographic questions and methodologies Provides a showcase for cutting edge work in the field Is written in an accessible and lively style, setting out a wide breadth of social geographic research
In this innovative title, the authors describe unique patient populations affected by stigma and prejudice and the prevalence of these issues to all healthcare providers. Each chapter covers the forms of prejudice and stigma associated with minority statuses, including religious minorities, the homeless, as well as those stigmatized by medical serious medical conditions, such HIV/AIDS, obesity, and substance misuse disorders. The chapters focus on the importance of recognizing biological differences and similarities within such groups and describes the challenges and best practices for optimum healthcare outcomes. The text describes innovative ways to connect in a clinical setting with people of diverse backgrounds. The text also covers future directions and areas of research and innovative clinical work being done. Written by experts in the field, Stigma and Prejudice is an excellent resource for psychiatrist, psychologists, general physicians, social workers, and all other medical professionals working with stigmatized populations.
A COMPANION TO HEALTH AND MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY A Companion to Health and Medical Geography provides an essential starting point for anyone interested in studying the role of geography and of geographers, both past and present, in promoting an understanding of issues relating to health and illness. Whilst thoroughly mapping out the territory covered by the sub-discipline and examining changes in focus and terminology, this book offers a discussion of the major themes from differing methodological and theoretical perspectives. Questions of class, ethnicity, gender, age, and sexuality are covered throughout the text and case studies within chapters draw upon scholarship from around the globe in order to illuminate key points. Organized to promote dialogue and encourage health and medical geographers to rethink sub-disciplinary boundaries, this Companion provides a unique account of the history of the field and its future potential and possibilities.
"Mean Streets offers, in a single, sustained argument, a theory of the social and economic logic behind the historical development, evolution, and especially persistence of homelessness in the contemporary city. By updating and revisiting thirty years of research and thinking, Don Mitchell explores the conditions that produce and sustain homelessness, and how its persistence relates to the way capital works in the urban built environment. Consequently, he unpacks the structure, meaning, uses, and governance of urban public space. As one reviewer commented, "thinking about the histories under which the homeless have been produced and regulated is vital." Mitchell traces his argument through two sections: a broadly historical overview, followed by an exploration of recent Supreme Court jurisprudence that also expands the discussion beyond the regulation of the homeless and the poor, arguing that this has 'metastasized' to become more general issue, affecting all urbanites"--
"Brings together leading and emerging researchers to advance understanding of the complex relationships between homelessness and health. Covering a wide range of topics from youth homelessness to end-of-life care, contributors outline policy and practice recommendations to respond to this public health crisis."--Back cover.
This book presents an unflinching investigation of homelessness in the United States—a problem that has been with us since the arrival of the first English settlers nearly 400 years ago. The terms historically used to describe them include "bums," "hoboes," "migrants," "street people," "transients," "tramps," and "vagrants." Just as varied as the words we have used to describe them are the reasons many people have found themselves living in the land of opportunity without permanent residence. The book considers homelessness and its distinctive character in three periods of American history: the era of tramps and hoboes in the late 1800s–early 1900s, the era of transients and migrants in the 1930s, and the era of homeless and "street" people in the last 40 years. It clarifies the multiple meanings of the word "homeless" today and demonstrates that homelessness is a symptom of more than one problem, leading to confusion about the issue of homelessness and hampering attempts to reduce its occurrence. Author Neil Larry Shumsky, PhD, also postulates that the treatment of homelessness in England before the colonization of North America laid the foundation of pervasive American attitudes and practices.