Sir, – Alice Leahy states in her letter that building relationships with homeless people requires a lot of time and understanding and that locking people away in prison or a psychiatric institution seems to be society's only answer (March 5th).
As a mental health social worker for over 20 years, I could not agree more.
But the challenge for all of us who want to make a difference for our most vulnerable people in society is that a one-size-fits-all approach clearly does not work. People with serious mental illness and addiction issues need treatment before a meaningful relationship can produce change.
This involves a commitment from Government to adequately fund services, but also from housing and healthcare providers to work proactively together to ensure that we do not settle for the status quo. – Yours, etc,
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FRANK BROWNE,
Templeogue,
Dublin 16.