Mental Health and Homelesness: a vicious cycle of powerlessness

Mental health is a fundamental human right – essential to well-being, community participation, and the ability to live with dignity. Yet, for people experiencing homelessness, this right is too often denied. During this European Mental Health Week 2025, our session will explore the powerful, often invisible connections between homelessness and mental health problems, highlighting how structural inequalities, unmet needs, and social exclusion create a vicious cycle of powerlessness and marginalisation.

Drawing on international data and practical examples, we will unpack the cascading effects of homelessness on mental health – including increased risks of untreated psychiatric conditions, cognitive impairments, and substance use – as well as the systemic barriers that hinder access to care. These include bureaucratic obstacles, lack of outreach, fragmented services, and negative attitudes from professionals.

This event invites participants to reflect on the urgent need for inclusive, rights-based mental health systems that do not leave the most vulnerable behind. Together, we will ask: How can we transform mental health care to not only help people survive, but enable them to truly live? And what actions are needed – in policy, practice, and public attitudes – to uphold mental health as a social right for all?