Scavenging for HousingThe NH Mental Health System

Jackie EllisLee Ann HusseyElena LombardNHs Mental Health System Mental health treatment is poorly funded. It is under-funded in part because of the myths and stigma, which make it hard for spokespersons and champions to speak up and risk experiencing a loss of social status. It is under-funded because the effectiveness of treatment has not been broadly publicized. It is under-funded because persons with milder conditions have been willing to quietly pay out of pocket so that there is no record of their having received mental health services, which could impact their career.-Fulfilling the PromiseLets Give It a Try!

New Hampshire Hospital

Our minds and bodies are always together in our lives, except when we enter the health care system. There they are often separated, and totally distinct specialties take over.

-Cynthia Watson, MDTransitional Housing

When evidenced-based treatment are combined with community supports, people and families with mental illness can move from being socially isolated to being active citizens in their communities. They can move from disability to ability and from unemployment to employment.

Homeless

Close to 50% of all homeless people have had a mental health problem within the previous year

-President Bushs Commission on Mental HealthSection 8Housing

Shelters

Living with Family

Supportive Permanent Housing

I was always scared when I didnt have a permanent place to live. Now, I feel safe and accepted for who I am in supported housing.ConclusionMental illness is an equal opportunity destroyer. It travels without regard to race, religion, sex or geography. The only way it can be contained and managed, in my view, is if all of us help to pull it from the shadows where it has found refuge for far too long and into the sunlight.

-Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick