Homeless Black Men and Psychiatric Emergency The Supreme Court weaponized an already biased mental health system.

[blackestofpanthers]

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, African Americans make up 40% of the homeless population despite constituting only 13% of the U.S. population. Black men, in particular, are overrepresented in homelessness statistics, with their numbers growing in cities across the country. This ruling will disproportionately impact these men, forcing them into emergency departments not only for medical and mental health care but also for refuge from the criminalization of their very existence.

The influx of individuals into psychiatric emergency services is already straining resources, but for Black men, the burden of this ruling goes beyond the mere availability of care. Clinicians operating within a system already biased against Black patients are more likely to dismiss homeless Black men as malingerers. This bias, compounded by the ruling's criminalization of homelessness, may lead to a systematic denial of mental health services for this population.

Homeless Black Men and Psychiatric Emergency Settings

The Supreme Court’s ruling in "City of Grants Pass v. Johnson" not only criminalizes homelessness but also weaponizes a mental health system already biased against Black men.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

An analysis in the U.S. found that the cost of living index, driven mainly by housing costs, explains 61.4% of homelessness, with housing affordability identified as the most significant factor across all predictive models.

The Cost of Living Index as a Primary Driver of Homelessness in the United States: A Cross-State Analysis - PMC

Background: Homelessness persists as a critical global issue despite myriad interventions. This study analyzed state-level differences in homelessness rates across the United States to identify influential societal factors to help guide resource ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I was going to make a thread about this for a while now.
Because think of it, all these rich people and companies they caused this housing crisis.
All of us here, you reading this, all our lives and quality of life would have been significantly better if it wasn't for the housing crisis.
Many of us who doesn't own would be owning, and many of us in debt would have cleared that balance.
We all would have more disposable money.

But none of us revolted, we all accepted it!

 

[blackestofpanthers]

@Barlow @Outlaw @Pull Up the Roots @parallax

 

[Plankton]

@YaThreadFloppedB!

 

[blackestofpanthers]

@YaThreadFloppedB!

Thanks for tagging my afram brother. More black men need to see this stuff

 

[trapnerd]

A Homelss group tried to settle in the park across the street from us.

Not on my watch. I pay taxes.

.

 

[DaKidFromNoWhere]

That 40% is alarming....

 

[Barlow]

I witnessed first hand how mental illness affects black men and how twisted the mental health field is towards us.
Here in Florida they have the baker act, which basically means you can be deemed a hazard to yourself or those around you and held in a psychiatric facility against your will just by someones word.

This was used on me when I went in for help when I was younger and was honest about my thoughts of pain at the time. I was locked in with other young black men who were there just for showing anger at legitimate issues. The amount of children Baker acted is insane. Black boys being taken away for expressing any frustration. The rate at which they deem black people with illnesses like schizophrenia is ridiculous. Even if you dont have delusions or hear voices, the medication they force you will have you experiencing them. They scoff at the idea of a black person having something deemed as "acceptable" like autism and immediately go for schizophrenia or bipolar. Whatever diagnosis can get you sedated and hooked as opposed to actual help. I was diagnosed schizophrenic as soon I went in all because I told them that I felt distrustful of people around me.

I would have been another homeless statistic if not for my grandma. This has always been a serious issue for me, but i didnt think thecoli would care very much.

This creates a very vicious cycle that seems like it will only get worse. The ill among us are either denied help or given improper help, causing them to face hardships and now they have two major issues that people will look down on. Eventually they'll just wind up behind bars as intended.

 

[Makavalli]

I witnessed first hand how mental illness affects black men and how twisted the mental health field is towards us.
Here in Florida they have the baker act, which basically means you can be deemed a hazard to yourself or those around you and held in a psychiatric facility against your will just by someones word.

This was used on me when I went in for help when I was younger and was honest about my thoughts of pain at the time. I was locked in with other young black men who were there just for showing anger at legitimate issues. The rate at which they deem black people with illnesses like schizophrenia is ridiculous. Even if you dont have delusions or hear voices, the medication they force you will have you experiencing them. They scoff at the idea of a black person having something deemed as "acceptable" like autism and immediately go for schizophrenia or bipolar. Whatever diagnosis can get you sedated and hooked as opposed to actual help. I was diagnosed schizophrenic as soon I went in all because I told them that I felt distrustful of people around me.

I would have been another homeless statistic if not for my grandma. This has always been a serious issue for me, but i didnt think thecoli would care very much.

This creates a very vicious cycle that seems like it will only get worse. The ill among us are either denied help or given improper help, causing them to face hardships and now they have two major issues that people will look down on. Eventually they'll just wind up behind bars as intended.

Damn breh this is real. Thanks for sharing. The mental health of black men has been downplayed way too long and we get tossed to the side. The breaking down of the black family made it worst cause that would be the only support

 

[Barlow]

In the 2016–17 school year, although Black children made up only 15 % of Florida’s under‑18 population, they comprised 25 % of all Baker Act involuntary examinations

Among very young children (ages 5–10), the disparity is even starker. In 2021–22, Black children accounted for 31–32 % of those Baker‑Acted in that age group, despite being around 20–21 % of Florida’s youth .

In Palm Beach County, where D.P. lived, schools seized children using the Baker Act 1,216 times from 2016 to 2020, including 252 times on elementary students, according to the lawsuit. Black children, including D.P., were seized at twice the rate of white children. That racial disparity was even worse for young children: 40 of the 59 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds who were involuntarily examined were Black.

Unnecessary, Inappropriate, Illegal: SPLC lawsuit exposes how nearly 38,000 children each year are seized in Florida, handcuffed and taken to mental facilities

When D.P. got upset one day, his teacher allowed him to leave class and take a short walk, giving the 9-year-old boy with autism enough time to calm down before rejoining his classmates. But on another day, in November 2018, the boy met with a very different response. This time, two adults held...

www.splcenter.org

Costly and Cruel: Thousands of Florida children suffer the harm and indignity of involuntary, and often illegal, commitment to psychiatric facilities

I have witnessed and survived much – from overtly racist threats at gunpoint to the everyday microaggressions by people who feel obliged to police Black bodies, words, actions and even our audacity. These assaults accumulate, at times stinging like the death of a thousand cuts, but, like most...

www.splcenter.org

Report: Black children in Florida face harsher school discipline | Southern Poverty Law Center

The arrest of 6-year-old Kaia Rolle in Orlando five years ago highlights Florida’s harshly punitive approach to school discipline as detailed in new SPLC report.

www.splcenter.org

 

[Barlow]

Damn breh this is real. Thanks for sharing. The mental health of black men has been downplayed way too long and we get tossed to the side. The breaking down of the black family made it worst cause that would be the only support

Truth. And people just nonchalantly tell black men to "go get help" or therapy when it's not that simple. Of course for some it works out, but alot of professionals are not there to empathize with or understand the problems of a black male. Even worse when someone you do trust ends up misdiagnosing you or gets you locked in a psych ward and causes you to lose your employment.

 

[BlackJesus]

A Homelss group tried to settle in the park across the street from us.

Not on my watch. I pay taxes.

.

You are part of the problem rather than the solution

 

[blackestofpanthers]

Unnecessary, Inappropriate, Illegal: SPLC lawsuit exposes how nearly 38,000 children each year are seized in Florida, handcuffed and taken to mental facilities

When D.P. got upset one day, his teacher allowed him to leave class and take a short walk, giving the 9-year-old boy with autism enough time to calm down before rejoining his classmates. But on another day, in November 2018, the boy met with a very different response. This time, two adults held...

www.splcenter.org

Costly and Cruel: Thousands of Florida children suffer the harm and indignity of involuntary, and often illegal, commitment to psychiatric facilities

I have witnessed and survived much – from overtly racist threats at gunpoint to the everyday microaggressions by people who feel obliged to police Black bodies, words, actions and even our audacity. These assaults accumulate, at times stinging like the death of a thousand cuts, but, like most...

www.splcenter.org

Report: Black children in Florida face harsher school discipline | Southern Poverty Law Center

The arrest of 6-year-old Kaia Rolle in Orlando five years ago highlights Florida’s harshly punitive approach to school discipline as detailed in new SPLC report.

www.splcenter.org

I was just talking with my brother @breakfuss about the thread topic yesterday , didn’t know you were from Florida just like him

 

[HarlemHottie]

I would have been another homeless statistic if not for my grandma. This has always been a serious issue for me, but i didnt think thecoli would care very much.

I'm so sorry, breh, but glad you had somebody who loves you and had a place to stay.

Unfortunately, the Coli Democrat- Americans dgaf about homeless FBA men. For the sake of the thread, tho, I'll just drop this.

I don't care about none of that shyt. This is what I care about.


▛ Black Californians are overrepresented in the homeless population. Twenty percent of homeless adults identify Black as their sole racial identity and 6% as one of their identities. Thus, 26% identify Black as, compared to 7% in the overall California population.

▛ A higher proportion of Black Californians experiencing homelessness are cis-gender men, compared to other racial groups. Three quarters of Black Californians are cis-gender men, compared to 64% of white Californians and 68% of those from other racial groups.

▛ Black individuals reported a lower lifetime prevalence of regular substance use than those from other racial groups experiencing homelessness. Over half (58%) reported using illicit drugs regularly at some point in their lifetime; 74% of white and 65% of those from other races did so.

▛ Black individuals had a higher prevalence of severe mental health symptoms and problems than members of other racial groups. They had a higher prevalence of hallucinations, suicide attempts, and mental health hospitalizations.

▛ More than three quarters (79%) of Black Californians experiencing homelessness entered homelessness from housing. Nearly half (46%) entered from a non-leaseholding housing situation, living without the legal protections of a lease agreement. One in three (33%) were leaseholders in their last housing.

▛ Black Californians had extremely low incomes prior to homelessness. Among those who entered from a leaseholding arrangement, the median monthly household income in the six months prior to homelessness was $1200, lower than incomes from other racial groups experiencing homelessness. Among non-leaseholding Black Califorians, the median monthly household income in the same period was $960.

▛ Economic precarity preceded homelessness. Among Black Californians, leaseholders’ median monthly housing costs were $675–more than half of the median monthly household income. While a large proportion of non-leaseholders (45%) didn’t contribute to rent, those who did were cost burdened. Black participants discussed work and income fluctuations impacting their ability to keep up with housing costs.

▛ Anti-Black discrimination disrupted housing stability for Black Californians experiencing homelessness. Some Black participants discussed having left their last housing situation due to discrimination. For others, discrimination disrupted employment, resulting in loss of income and inability to keep up with housing costs.

https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2024-02/Black%20CA%20Report%202024.pdf

Thus, straight black men are VASTLY over represented in CA's homeless population, not due to drug use, but due to mental instability caused by economic discrimination.

Anything else?

Oh, and a wm was acquitted for murdering a mentally ill bm with his bare hands on a NYC subway, aided primarily by an afro-Latino who was never even charged.

And yall wonder why NYC FBA go so hard on Democrats.

 

[Barlow]

I was just talking with my brother @breakfuss about the thread topic yesterday , didn’t know you were from Florida just like him

Not originally but been here half my life now. I don’t know if floridas homeless problem is as highly talked about as NYC or California but it’s crazy. And like the OP it’s 40% black.

Downtown Jacksonville was such a sad place. Just full of homeless ill black people.

It’s gone down in the last year but only because they made it illegal to sleep on public property. They added like 100 beds to shelters by funding and gave people a choice of go in a shelter, get arrested or give them a bus ticket somewhere else. More people have been arrested and shipped to another state than actually put in housing or a shelter. They make it sound like some great initiative though.