The Homeless Movie Analysis

This film shows the reality of individuals who are homeless and suffer from a mental health issue. Nathaniel had lost contact with his family, after he started to experience mental health symptoms. He also moved away from where his family lived. While the constant high levels of stress among the homeless is shown, what they do not show is whether he is homeless, because of his mental health disorder or from an environmental factor. I think from a sociology perspective, one of the biggest contributors of the mentally ill homeless population is the deinstitutionalization that has occurred from the government's failure to provide adequate housing and social services. The mentally ill that have been discharged back into the community are usually unable to receive mental health services, because of the decrease in mental health facilities and a lack of federal funds. The homeless that have a mental health disorder, often

Nathaniel is homeless and a middle aged loner and suffering from schizophrenia. Nathaniel had to leave the Juilliard School of Music, because of his schizophrenia his musical performances grew too erratic, as his paranoia began to have a voice inside of his head. Nathaniel does get violent with Steve as Nathaniel pushes and slaps him and tells him that, “if he sees him again, he’ll gut him like a fish.” The film gives us a good example of the effects a mental illness can have on the words, thoughts and behaviors of a mental health suffer. It also raises the topic of an individual’s right to choose if they want to take medication or not. Watching this movie from a sociological perspective, it is good to see that Nathaniel has support from friends. I think that just support from friends is not enough in the long term management of schizophrenia. If I was Nathaniel’s case manager, I would want a complete diagnostic evaluation and a treatment plan that might include psychotherapy, medication or vocational