Subsidies for Mental Healthcare Professionals in Athens Homeless Shelters

My name is Julia DePasquale, and I am a 3rd year Political Science and Statistics major here at the University of Georgia. For this blogpost, I seek to explore the intersection between the inaccessibility of mental healthcare services and homelessness. Inadequate mental health care services exacerbate homelessness in Athens Clarke County. This policy proposal advocates for long term, full time mental health professionals in Athens homeless shelters to build the relationships needed for effective care.

Those experiencing homelessness are often at a heightened risk for mental health disorders in the United States, with 31 percent of the homeless population self-reporting as having a mental health disorder, and 24 percent reporting conditions related to chronic substance abuse. In 2022, Athens had 4,003 individuals experiencing homelessness among 2,625 households. This means that approximately 1,240 individuals experiencing homelessness are fighting serious mental illness. This approximation is an underestimate as it excludes those with less extreme mental health disorders or substance abuse issues. Additionally, 53% of people in need of mental health services listed cost as the barrier to receiving care.    

Officials have been unable to counter disparities in treatment access due to systematic barriers such as poor insurance coverage, confusion over where to seek help, and inadequate transportation to medical appointments. Many homeless individuals lack the stability to consistently commit to weekly or monthly mental health care routines such as filling medications or attending appointments. 

In order to address the ongoing mental health crisis among homeless individuals, I propose that Athens establish long term employment for mental health professionals in homeless shelters by providing subsidies to shelters for staffing costs. This policy aligns with goals one and five of the Athens Clarke County Unified Government Strategic Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness. Goal one aims to address the homelessness problem in Athens by increasing the Continuum of Care through increased staff, active discussion with those who have experienced homelessness, and community collaboration. Goal five aims to address homelessness and increase housing stability through initiatives that employ individuals, provide eviction mediation, and support mental health management ("Strategic Plan to Reduce & Prevent Homelessness”). Both of these goals ultimately lend themselves to a policy that increases access to long term mental health services. 

The details of this policy include offering subsidies for the salary and benefits for one mental health official at each homeless shelter in Athens.

Employing a full time mental health professional will allow the health professionals to form relationships with individuals who stay in the shelters and build trust. This is important because a major roadblock in addressing the causes of homelessness is the distrust of professionals within unhoused populations. The long term nature of this solution aims to address this. The physical proximity and access to these mental health professionals provides unhoused individuals a solace—a consistent space to seek help. Further, this collaborative model would allow for mental health professionals to collaborate with shelter staff to integrate their care into existing services that allow them to tailor care to the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. 

We should employ a multifaceted approach to implement this policy. At the county level, passing ordinances would establish a subsidy program and allow for stable and predictable funding through taxes, while ensuring oversight and accountability of the program. Legislation at the city level should focus on partnerships between city government and shelters, while specifying the requirements for shelters to receive subsidies. This could also become a program under the Athens’ Department of Housing and Community Development to ensure that efforts align with the goals and ongoing efforts already in place. Nonprofits and private donations as well as federal grants through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) could provide additional funds.

The challenge of implementation lies in funding, as grants and donations do not always provide for consistent, reliable assistance. Before fully beginning to initiate the policy process, a trial period should take place at one homeless shelter in Athens before expanding to another in order to gauge the effectiveness of the program. The timeline would aim to have the program fully implemented in under 6 months. This is because homeless shelters need the time to find qualified professionals that fit with their organization's mission. To ensure this policy is supported, coordination with county commissioners and homeless shelters is necessary to pass appropriate ordinances and encourage participation in the program and its potential benefits by homeless shelters in Athens.