Are Australian men with psychosis spending more time homeless?

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if homeless men with psychosis using emergency accommodation services are spending more time homeless.

Method: A 12-month accommodation history was collected from all men with psychosis referred to mental health services using two emergency accommodation services in inner Melbourne over a 5-year period.

Results: Of the 241 men referred with psychosis, 200 (81%) were able to provide a full accommodation history. In 2001 the mean total days spent in crisis accommodation was 27.0 days and in 2005 the mean number of days was 60.9. Over the 5 years, increasing time was spent homeless in the 12 months prior to assessment, most commonly in emergency accommodations.

Conclusions: Australian men with psychosis using emergency accommodation are spending an increasing amount of time homeless.