The article that Prasanth Siva will be summarizing is Mental Health Challenges and Strengths of Street-Involved Youth: The

Need for a Multi-determined Approach and the authors are McCay, Elizabeth; Langley, John; Beanlands, Heather; Cooper, Linda; Mudachi, Naomi; Harris, Andrea; Blidner, Rebecca; Bach, Karen; Dart, Colin; Howes, Carol; Miner, Susan.

This article pertains to mental illness in youth, specifically to those who live on the street. It authors conducted a few studies to assess the mental health issues to the youth living on the street. The clietel age population of the youth described were aged 16-24 and were seen to have increased quantities of mental illness indicator's. The studies showed that youth who lived on the streets had many mental health challenges versus to those who werent homeless, and their sympotoms seemed to be much more severe, including suicide ideation, depression and substance use/abuse. The article states this from some of the testimonies given to the clients in the studies as they state, that their self esteem is much lower because they do not have a place to call home, as well being bounced around shelter to shelter to the point they feel they are worthless and no point in them living as society rejects them and seems to have no place for them. That their friends, family and society reject them and ostracize them for being homeless and feel that it is their fault for the position they are in and do nothing to help further isolates them which they feel the only way to attain happiness is to self medicate through drug abuse and not seek help because they are unable to trust those around them of the fear that they will just be thrown away.

Having the mental illness also seems to be a negative stigmatism that is attached to them as they feel its a sense of disgrace, which causes them to have low self-esteem, that once they do join programs or shelters that are there to help them, after awhile they throw them out without

remorse due to aging out or for other reasons not specified which could be due to the mental illness but not offered the support. This in turn continues the risk of their mental illness because they are not getting any support in coping with mental health, which also affects them physical and in conclusion they refuse to disclose information about their health to staff because of the treatment they have been getting their hope lives about having a mental health. The article also states that the youth dont like telling the psychiatrist because they belive they lie about the diagnoses and write a prescription for something they might not neccessairly have though the majority have said encouraging outcomes from getting help for their mental illess. Though about all the youth in the studies knew about mental health services that could assist them in life only about 24% used the support as they feel humiliated being associated with mental illnesses. A lot of the youth have skepticism about mental health, which detracts them from getting the help they need which shows there needs to be an urgent need to change the stigmatism of mental illnesses in society and bring light to it and show that just because you have a mental illness doesnt mean its negative. That there is people out their who can give the support they need to live a functional life that doesnt need to be on the streets.

On a positive note the studies also found that with all the weaknesses they found in the youth that some strengths were very apparent in the youth, which was that they were very resilient, and had a strength based approach. As the youth looked at their lives and would know not think about the negatuves as they understood if they did than it would only get worse and if they were unable to look at the light at the sky for the hole they dug them self in, than they would never be able to get out of it and only dig their hole deeper. Having a positive attitude seemed to benefical for them both mentally and physically as it made them able to survive with their mental illness. This article shows that in order for youth to survive and get the support they need we need to get rid

of the stigmatisms associated to mental illnesses only that way can we move forward and help the youth.