The homeless person you pass on the street may be someone's unaccounted for lost family member who is missing with mental illness and/or a co-occurring substance addiction.

According to the FBI there are approximately 109,968 persons reported as missing in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database today. This means that law enforcement has taken a report from a family member who has a lost loved one and has entered it into the national database that can be cross referenced by other law enforcement agencies. There is however, another undefined silent population of lost people who are unaccounted for in any database; what Outpost for Hope calls Missing, Missing Persons. These may be unreported missing adults with mental illness and/or co-occurring addiction problems who may be lost among the homeless population. Some have left behind family members like Charlie Woram, who has not been successful in attempts to list his lost homeless brother as missing with a law enforcement agency, others, like Libba Phillips, whose continuous search for her chronically homeless sister uncovered gaps that reveal how unaccounted for women and children are exploited and abused.

We hope by sharing our latest research on this important issue, we open the door to dialogue that will help families, social services and law enforcement to Navigate the Lost Highway and improve the odds for successful recoveries of at risk unaccounted for adults and vulnerable children.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Inconsistent reporting of missing persons combined with the stigma of drug addiction and mental illness contributes to silent crimes of exploitation of at risk persons and their children. There are detrimental effects not only to the person who is lost but to the existence of an unknown and unaccounted for child who may be lost with him or her.

• People with mental illness, regardless of gender, are 2 1/2 more times likely to be the victims of violent crime than the general population.

• An estimated 50% of homeless adults with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar depression have a co-occurring substance use disorder.

• Individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders are among the most difficult to stably house and treat due to the limited availability of integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment in most communities.

• Consequences for society are costly as those with co-occurring disorders constantly recycle through a life on the streets, and in and out of healthcare and criminal justice systems. Without the establishment of more integrated treatment programs, the cycle will continue. A recent report shows just 9 patients made over 2700 ER visits over a period of six years due to mental health and substance addiction problems at a cost of $3 billion dollars to taxpayers. Several of the nine patients were homeless.

We suggest that families and caregivers review our Lost Among The Homeless Resource Guide for helpful information regarding how to report a loved one as missing and how to plan for the recovery and reunification process. It may also be important for families to become educated about psychiatric treatment laws.

If you have (or have had) an unreported lost loved one, help us create solutions by taking part in our landmark research survey: The Missing Link Registry Project.