Relationship between the deinstitutionalization model, psychiatric disability, and homelessness.

A follow-up study that tracked a sample of 133 people released from a state mental hospital showed that 35 percent became homeless within three months, supporting the theory that deinstitutionalization contributes to homelessness. An in-depth, qualitative tracking procedure provides data to describe key characteristics of the homeless person and the process by which people become homeless. These data point to solutions for improved care of severely mentally disabled people for whom the aftercare system has failed.