Homeless to healing: How local mental health services are turning hard times into success stories | Community Spirit

Clearwater, Florida -- On the heels of the celebration and controversy surrounding 53-year-old internet sensation Ted Williams, a homeless man who was discovered to have a "golden voice" while panhandling in Ohio and subsequently thrown into a whirlwind of job offers earlier this month, local organizations in Tampa Bay are encouraging residents to think about similar stories in our own backyard.

According to John Morgan, Supervisor of Homeless Services at Directions for Mental Health, "Last year, we received a request to look out for a particular individual whose family wanted to reconnect and was concerned, after not hearing from him. Our Street Outreach team, in partnership with Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, actually located that person and was able to help him get him on a bus and reunite with his family. When he got back to them, he learned he was a grandfather and also ended up staying with his family. It was a really wonderful story.”

As evidenced by stories like these from around the country, homelessness can touch the lives of any individual or family, regardless of talents, family history, or upbringing. Just as easily, those in a position to help can turn that misfortune around. Morgan explains why many hesitate to assist the homeless: “I think part of it is fear that we could be in that situation. Homelessness is such a widespread problem that people think that if they help 1 person, it doesn’t make a difference. But, it does.”

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Emphasizing the broad spectrum of individuals living without homes, Morgan notes, "I’m running into people who have been professional people, with the house, car, kids, dog, who have always been able to support themselves. They’re people who’ve had savings and, because of circumstances beyond their control, here they are. Then we also help people who are dealing with chronic illness, addictions, things like that."

Research conducted in the past 5 years has found that about 30% of people who are chronically homeless have mental health conditions. About 50% have co-occurring substance use problems. Williams, for example, had a rap sheet two decades stretching back two decades, is a former crack cocaine user, and has served several prison terms for theft and forgery. Nonetheless, he is now clean, sober, and starting fresh.

Fortunately, mental health services can be a huge help in steering individuals into positive life changes, and even new homes. "On the mental health end, some people are self-medicating with alcohol and drugs and haven’t been able to get treatment. Directions helps them find the right people and resources, and follow up with appointments to continue treatment," explains Morgan.

Directions for Mental Health has Street Outreach Specialists who work in partnership with local law enforcement in Pinellas Park, Lealman, and Tarpon Springs. The agency, which has been serving Pinellas County since 1982, also provides many different outpatient behavioral health services and has a strong homeless outreach program, designed to provide outreach, screening, crisis intervention, case management and brief supportive counseling as well as to help homeless individuals locate needed resources like health care, mental health/substance abuse services, financial assistance, job training, educational services, and relevant housing services. Homeless Outreach services are primarily provided at emergency shelters, soup kitchens, drop-in centers and other areas in the community where homeless individuals are located.

"We believe in second chances and second opportunities," Tracy Marek, the Cleveland Caveliers' senior vice president of marketing, told the Associated Press regarding the job offer the team extended to Williams. Mental health providers are encouraging the public to have a similar understanding of situations they may not be able to immediately relate to. As Morgan explains, "While you think it couldn’t ever happen to you, it really can. How long can you continue making your house payment without having a job? Not everyone has family to help in those situations."

From living in a makeshift tent to conducting interviews with the world's most famous journalists, and finally to a job as a professional sports announcer for the NBA, Williams has come a long way. It's a feel-good story that we can all learn to apply to our lives here in the Bay area.