"In every corner of the world, there are people who are flagrantly ill, people who mutter to invisible others and box at the air. But because the cultural texture is different in different settings, the experience of madness can be quite different, too. That is true even of such a blunt assault on human feeling as homelessness."
This is a profound Op-Ed peice by the anthropologist T.M. Luhrmann. If you are interested in mental health, homelessness and cultural differences in care you will find much in Luhrmann's "Where Homeless Meets Crazy." Among other things, Luhrmann compares the approach to the homeless in Chennai, India and Chicago.
This is a photo of Banyan, an Indian NGO, that, since 1993, has been an integral part of the chain of care for people with mental illness in Chennai. Their projects have changed the lives of over 5,000 people by providing services to support them in reaching their definition of recovery. They have taken over 1500 homeless women off the streets and started the rehabilitation process.