Street people and psychiatry: an introduction.

Homelessness is not a new problem in the United States, but during the current recession we have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of people, many of them mentally ill, who live on the streets of American cities. The author traces the history of the homeless mentally ill in the United States; he then discusses the role of media coverage and reports in the scientific literature in alerting the public and the mental health field to the plight of the street people. The impact of deinstitutionalization and the work of advocacy organizations such as the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless are also discussed.