Mental health and the need for shelter

Published: 13 January, 2011

• THE proposal (Letters, January 6) to use St Luke’s Hospital as a shelter for the homelessly mental ill during the very cold weather is certainly interesting.  

However, even if the Camden & Islington foundation trust would agree to this in a bring me your huddled masses way, it seems likely that after two years of forced delapidation the wards would not be habitable even by us of this under-class.

C & I’s FOCUS service at Greenland Street in Camden Town has been good for those of us who have no homes but have mental health problems. Sadly, it seems as if once again the homeless are going to become invisible to services and this facility is likely to be closed as part of the forthcoming community mental health cuts.

So if C & I were to agree to using St Luke’s Hospital as a shelter we would probably pay too high a price for it by losing our mental health service.

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