Destitution, Mental Illness and Law: Issues, Challenges and Possibilities

A sizable number of destitute live on the streets and many suffer from mental health issues. Some end up on the streets after either being abandoned by the family or as a result of wandering around in the state of illness, while others developed illness due to the extreme abuses faced on the hostile street. The State mechanism, i.e., legal framework to address homeless persons with mental illness is about first turning them invisible and then punishing under Beggary laws. If homeless are vulnerable, more vulnerable are the homeless people with mental illness. Even more vulnerable are those mentally ill homeless who are caught under beggary laws. At present, anti-beggary laws exist in more than 20 states and two Union Territories. The features of these anti-beggary laws in different states are almost similar. Almost all states criminalize mental illness as the term ‘beggar’ has been defined in such a manner that ‘homeless mentally ill’ person wandering about is legally considered a ‘beggar’ and therefore punished. Person arrested under the Beggary Law can be kept in custody for a period ranging from 1 to 10 years and for an indefinite period under special circumstances. Most civil interventions too exclude people by its design. Koshish has been working to end this criminalization of mental illness. Following ‘Systems Approach’, organization collaborates with the state in offering rehabilitation services while opposing them on law. Over the years, thousands have been supported but more importantly, the intervention has demonstrated an alternative and is impacting policy-level reforms. Koshish is not an expert on mental health but it has managed to make these institutions visible. Basing its interventions on fundamental needs of empathy and compassion, Koshish has established that institutions of mental health are not the only ones that need reforms.