WHEN THE MENTALLY ILL ENTERS THE MARKET SQUARE

Some  state governments  have attempted to  confront the  issue of homelessness with approaches that may not invariably deliver the  expected wholesome benefits  characterized by spurious ad hoc rehabilitation programs of a few weeks with the ultimate goal of repatriation to families or state of origin  which is appalling  when these homeless individuals are Nigerians. Another knotty issue in some of these rehabilitation programs is the theoretical differentiation between the homeless mentally ill and the homeless destitute persons with an unnecessary focus on the former.  For me; it is a smart way of avoiding responsibility since given the evidence linking homelessness to poverty and social disadvantage, it is hardly surprising that homeless people report higher rate of mental illness relative to the general population. Alcoholism and drug dependency are present in as many as two-thirds of men and a third of homeless women. Co morbidity of mental illness and substance use disorder is the rule rather than the exception as are the co-occurrence of respiratory diseases, infections, trauma, and the physical consequences of poor diet, poor hygiene and the complications of substance abuse. 

Compared with the domiciled population; homeless people are less likely to have completed basic education, less likely to have held employment, and more likely to have experienced parental neglect and abuse in their childhood. The homeless mentally ill and the homeless person are two sides of the same coin since they both have the same factor that links them- homelessness. This term; often used to describe populations as diverse as those sleeping in the shelter of a cardboard box, to those sleeping on a friend’s floor and a good number sleep in their shops, under the bridge, and in the motor parks while some make do with broken down vehicles, market stalls and when they breakdown mentally wonder and live anywhere on the streets.  While rates vary depending on the particular measure of mental illness adopted by each study; up to 60% of those using emergency shelters and sleeping rough have serious mental illness.

Vagrancy has a very potent social definition because it invariably illustrates the ultimate value of a people concerning the dignity of human life. Historically; vagrancy was viewed as a crime, punishable and generally classified   with begging, prostitution and work-shyness and confined to concentration camps.   However, this primitive view of vagrancy has since been abolished with the enthronement of compassionate social welfare programs in developed countries.   I suspect that those state governors rehabilitating the homeless persons and repatriating them within the same federal republic are leveraging on this obsolete view. The homeless population in Nigeria is the creation of the ruling class through successive governments that indulge in the mundane rather than sparing a little for housing the underprivileged. The rural urban drift may be a factor; but failure of successive governments to put in place affordable entry level accommodation in our urban centers is responsible for the population explosion of the homeless. Unfortunately; recent efforts have been rather parochial, usually crafted for scoring cheap political points rather than confronting the menace of homelessness. The urban renewal programs are fantastic but with equally traumatic blow on the psyche of the vulnerable poor who become homeless as a result. It is this group of persons, emerging from years of neglect from successive governments that build houses on illegal plots which invariably qualify for demolition. The implication of such programs without a backup of alternative accommodation plans may lead to increase in the population of the mentally ill.  When a person is displaced from his home without an alternative, he becomes a vagabond. This displacement has very strong negative mental health implication capable of threatening   our collective peaceful coexistence. The simple psychodynamics of the terrorism plaguing the northern part of our country is basically a product of long years of feudalistic excesses of the northern political leaders who abused a population of young, vulnerable lads and their poor parents while they sent their children to oxford, Cambridge and Harvard to acquire western education to take over leadership roles as they vacate them. Naturally; the neglected lads of yesteryears have grown   poor, homeless and angry as they confront the deceit of their leaders which explains the adoption of terrorism as a means of protest. 

Our leaders need to understand that policies that increase the number of homeless individuals potentially create an increase in the number of mentally impaired, violent prone and energetic youths. We have them in our neighborhoods irrespective of where we stay; usually young, vibrant, unemployed and very mobile. Neighborhoods should organize rehabilitation programs that may involve creating employment, some housing facilities and a robust mental health rehabilitation programs for these less privileged. The mentally ill in the market square are not more difficult to manage than those in the homes; the difference is the lack of social support in the former.

Dr Adeoye Oyewole

adeoyewole2000@yahoo.com

+2348034905808(Whatsapp only)