A new study has found that alcohol problems can be effectively reduced in homeless people with mental illness when they are given a place to live with no preconditions, such as sobriety or seeing a psychiatrist.
The approach, known as ‘Housing First,’ focuses on moving homeless people into independent and permanent housing as quickly as possible and then providing additional supports and services as needed. The underlying principle is that people are better able to move forward with their lives if they are first housed.
These interventions improve housing stability and community functioning for this population, said lead author Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, psychiatrist-in-chief at St. Michael’s Hospital and a scientist in its Centre for Research on Inner City Health.
[For more of this story, written by Traci Pedersen, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...l-illness/86994.html]
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