Mental illness lies behind the problems of so many of the homeless people on the streets of Seattle. But homelessness itself becomes a huge barrier for anyone trying to improve his or her life.
As a Seattle P-I story earlier this month reported, King County has a major shortage of housing that can support the mentally ill. Some additional facilities can be expected from a new, local sales tax to help with mental illness and addiction, but the first projects won't be open until 2010.
In the meantime, the shortage has been exacerbated by controversy over what kind of housing is most appropriate. There's a trend toward smaller support houses, with perhaps a half-dozen or so residents and emphasizing independent living, as opposed to larger ones with dozens of residents and an on-site staff member at all times.
This is not just a King County problem. The Legislature needs to explore the best housing options as part of what should be a large-scale review of policies on mental illness.
Washington lacks adequate policies to require treatment of mentally ill individuals who become dangerous to themselves or to others. The state also is desperately short of hospital beds for the mentally ill. The inadequate housing for those ready to live on their own is one more challenge that lawmakers should address next year.
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