An estimated 20–25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from serious mental health issues, compared to only 4–6% of the general population. Homelessness, in turn, has been associated with poorer mental health outcomes. It’s a vicious cycle.
Deidre dealt with mental health issues her entire life. At the age of 11 she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and was in and out until age 17. Over the next 10 years, she spent time in homeless shelters, halfway houses, group recovery homes, and living on the street. She became pregnant, struggled with substance abuse for a time, and faced other challenges.
By all accounts, Deidre’s journey was hard. She often felt like giving up. “I thought I was better off dead and attempted suicide many times,” she says.
Deidre credits numerous “guardian angels” for helping her keep moving forward. “Someone always showed up at the right moment, at the right time. People who gave me a chance to make my next step a better one.”
Those angels included other individuals with lived experience, Health Care for the Homeless program staff, and ultimately the National Consumer Advisory Board and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Deidre was staying at a women’s shelter with her son just before she finally found housing.
One day she met another individual with lived experience who invited her to a regional Consumer Advisory Board meeting. That meeting included a call with the National Consumer Advisory Board. “That was my introduction to the Council and giving back,” said Deidre. “It was my introduction to advocacy.”
And Deidre was hooked.
“When I became connected with the Council and NCAB, I felt surrounded and accepted, flaws and all,” she says. “The Council became a stepping stone to my destiny.”
Through a program that began with the Council and consumer involvement, Deidre became a licensed community health worker. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for the opportunity to get into this program 10 years ago,” she says. “I never would have gone back to school.”
Today, Deidre uses the opportunity and the training she received to help others. She is the chair of NCAB and a member of the CHANGE committee at Health Care for the Homeless Houston.
She understands the importance of consumer voices in the movement to end homelessness and uses her voice and her story to help others. “How can you try to solve our problems if you don’t really understand the problems?”
Deidre’s goal is to end homelessness, but she understands she can’t do it alone.
“I know I can’t do it singlehandedly because it takes everyone giving something up. I had to give up my isolation and depression to be there for others. Today, I can be there for someone I don’t even know, in the same way my predecessors gave me an opportunity without knowing me,” says Deidre. “Being part of the work of the Council makes me want to be the best version of myself.”
Make a gift today to support Deidre and others who work to give a voice to the unhoused, and advocate for equitable and quality health care and other efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
