Homelessness, mental health and justice
Several programs and agencies have been developed and implemented in attempts to adapt police and legal processes to the needs of people living with mental illness, especially those who experience homelessness. The present qualitative descriptive study examines how homeless people with mental illness experience police and justice-related services. Analysis of six interviews reveals complex attitudes toward involvement with these services, including feelings of responsibility and injustice ; the perception that most programs and agencies are not fulfilling their mandates, although this failure is sometimes counterbalanced by positive experiences with community-based support programs ; and different views of those services considered to be either “regular” or “alternative” processes. Participants emphasized the principles of procedural justice – in particular what procedures labelled “alternative” offered in this regard, although they noted that even these interactions were unlikely to fully respect these principles. Our results raise questions about the ability of different social institutions to offer services that will be considered fair by individuals who experience convergent marginalized identities and are at different stages along their personal trajectories.