Sir, - Your excellent feature "Left out in the Cold" (February 8th) unfortunately confirms my suspicion that the needs of those who are both mentally ill and homeless are being ignored. Anyone who makes the statement that people "choose to be homeless" has unfortunately missed the point. People may choose to live on the street because it is the best of a bad job, but that is only because society has failed them.
Homelessness is not a "problem" for society; rather it is a "reflection" of how bad society has become.
We are all very good at labelling people and putting them in boxes. Drug addicts, alcoholics, drop-outs, loners, mentally ill and homeless are all demoralising terms that belittle the person inside.
Patricia Casey is correct when she says "everyone wants a roof over their head . . . they want to be valued and cared for by other human beings".
However, discussing how to make someone feel like a human being doesn't in itself solve the problem of homelessness for those who do suffer with mental health issues. Surely Martin Rogan is not saying that 28,000 beds were once used inappropriately. The psychiatric hospitals did have their problems, no one is denying that, but what has been put in their place is not sufficient for the needs of those who were "given appropriate accommodation in the community".
I would agree with Kevin Malone when he says that "what is needed is an organised system of mental health hostels where people have a place to sleep, food to eat and the social support and medical expertise they require".
It is time we started speaking to and working with the people on the streets, not to collate masses of information that is then filed away in some departmental report, but to directly benefit those who are really in need.
Let's stop talking about a problem and start working towards an acceptable solution. - Yours, etc.,
Capt TIM HYDE CA, Outreach Worker, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.