Introduction: A New Executive Order on Homelessness
On July 24, 2025, the White House released an Executive Order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on American Streets,” and it seems that it has mostly gone unnoticed by the general public. On its face, this order may seem to be a good thing as homelessness is an ever-increasing problem in America, and many of those who are homeless suffer from an untreated mental illness. However, there are many questions about how the homeless will become housed, and what it looks like to force people into treatment for substance abuse or mental illness.
As I discussed in my previous article focused on the Traverse City Walmart attacks, there is a high rate of homeless people who have untreated mental illnesses. Schizophrenia is just one of the many disorders that those people suffer from, with those diagnosed with PTSD being another large portion of the population.
The Overlap Between Mental Illness and Homelessness
Why are so many people who are mentally ill homeless?
The prevailing opinion seems to be that homelessness is due to those who suffer from mental illness not being able to function in society or not being willing to do the work. However, in my experience with mental illness, many employers are not willing to accommodate people who have disabilities, including mental illness, even though there are protections provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One example of this is requesting a position that does not involve working a register or a part-time position due to a disability, but since there is no position that includes that, it can’t be accommodated, and the person with a disability either has no job or a job that isn’t a good fit.
There is the option of applying for FMLA (family medical leave act), which allows for absences to be excused; however, a person can only apply for FMLA after they have been with a company for a year. This is a year of working a job that doesn’t allow for mental health days, taking off for doctors’ appointments with it counting against you, being able to take more frequent bathroom breaks (for those with medical needs), and other consequences of not receiving FMLA protection.
As I have pointed out before, mental illness, especially those caused by trauma, creates a lot of invisible, but very real, wounds. It may be easy to explain to an employer that you cannot come into work one day because your physical illness is flaring up one day, but it is not so easy to explain that cannot come into work because your PTSD (or CPTSD) has flared up and you haven’t been able to sleep a full night in a week and cannot function. More often than not, an employer sees the number of absences and determines that the employee is not reliable, and decides to fire them. Even if the employee has a doctor’s (or therapist’s) note excusing their absence, the employer can still choose to fire them for being absent.
Even if there is an accommodation provided by that employee’s enrollment in FMLA, fighting a wrongful termination takes time, energy, and may tie up unemployment benefits until the arbitration process is completed which most people cannot afford. In short, in theory, there are protections for people with disabilities, but in practice, it is difficult to exercise those protections.
According to this USA Today article, most of us are just one paycheck away from being homeless. That also makes us all one paycheck away from being accused of not wanting to work, causing our own homelessness in the court of public opinion.
Why PTSD Creates Employment Barriers
Some reasons that PTSD causes employment difficulty are the physical symptoms and conditions caused by chronic inflammation. Research shows chronic inflammation is likely to occur in PTSD, in short, because the sympathetic nervous system is constantly activating the fight or flight response, which releases the stress hormones cortisol and other hormones that cause various reactions in the body’s systems. This Harvard Health article goes into more detail about the stress response and health. In normal circumstances, the parasympathetic nervous system acts as the “brake,” allowing our bodies to return to normal in a relaxed state, and there is no danger of the many illnesses and conditions caused by chronic systemic inflammation.
However, for those who suffer from PTSD, CPTSD, and related trauma-induced disorders, the parasympathetic nervous system does not react and “pump the brakes.” Due to the constant activation of the fight or flight system in the body, causing the hormone cortisol to be ever-present, there are many conditions that are caused by inflammation that occur more often in people with PTSD. These include high cholesterol, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and autoimmune diseases. Many diseases are not visible, and people may go undiagnosed for many years, attempting to deal with the symptoms or convince themselves it’s all in their head.
It Wouldn’t Be a Disability if It Didn’t Make Life Hard
Recently, I had a conversation with someone close to me who struggles to understand why it is so hard for me to find gainful employment. After dealing with various government-funded agencies, it appears they also do not understand why it is hard for PTSD to find gainful employment. Some of my most frustrating memories come from attempting to get help from agencies that are funded by the government to help people with disabilities get back to work. These agencies consistently suggested positions that I had informed I couldn’t work, such as customer service positions or positions in places where I could not travel, because my anxiety makes it hard to travel.
There are millions of people who experience various symptoms occasionally, such as depression, but their lives are not halted by these symptoms. Those people do not have a mental illness or disability, and it is even normal to feel sad sometimes. Being diagnosed with a mental disorder means that your life is severely impacted by it. It means that you are unable to do everything that most people can do consistently because you experience a set of mental health symptoms that prevent you from operating that way.
Anyone who suffers from a disability knows that the world is not made for us. We will spend our entire lives trying to figure out how to hide our symptoms, fake smiles, and contort ourselves into playing roles that we just aren’t meant for. To cope with this, professionals prescribe us medications that often have terrible side effects, or (as is the case with PTSD or CPTSD) don’t work.
Medications, in conjunction with therapy, may work for some to relieve some of the symptoms due to PTSD, but it is only a little more than half of the time. Since CPTSD is not yet listed as a disorder in the DSM, it is hard to know how often medication helps symptoms of CPTSD; however, I have not had any luck, and I know I can’t possibly be alone in this.
The Many Ways PTSD Makes It Hard to Work
Since it is unlikely that taking medication will instantly alleviate PTSD symptoms, it is unreasonable to expect those who suffer from PTSD to be able to completely “put aside” their symptoms to fit the mold of a standard employment job.
The most common symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks to the traumatic events, which sometimes can just be felt instead of seen. Sometimes they are brought on by triggers like seeing someone who looks like your attacker, or a similar vehicle. Other times, they really seem to be out of nowhere. It is impossible to control when flashbacks happen or don’t happen, and the attempt to do so commonly leads to avoidance of people, places, and things that a person fears might trigger a flashback.
The overwhelming sense of panic that occurs in those who suffer from a flashback can also result in mood swings, panic attacks, and anger outbursts, among other symptoms. These make it hard to keep interpersonal relationships, and subsequently, difficult to foster interpersonal relationships.
Depersonalization and derealization are other symptoms that a small number of sufferers experience as well, which makes it very difficult to interact with the real world. Depersonalization is generally when someone feels that they are outside of themselves when they go through a traumatic experience or have flashbacks of one. Derealization is the feeling that one is in a dream or moving through reality, feeling as if they are underwater.
All these symptoms can result in “brain fog”, where a person may have difficulty concentrating, remembering things, and communicating. Often, a person is caught ‘staring into space’ or reprimanded for not being productive or handing someone the wrong change at a cash register because they “aren’t paying attention.” It is nearly impossible to explain to an employer that the reason you’re being a bad employee is because you have a mental disorder, and even if they understand that is what is going on, a person gets fired anyway.
Conclusion: Why the Executive Order Misses the Point
I share these experiences and insights to illuminate that while the recent executive order on how “the homeless problem” in America will be dealt with may look promising, it does leave some rather large shortcomings due to the view of homelessness and mental illness being misguided.
Simply taking people off the streets and forcing them into treatment is just not enough. Surely, we can do better to help those struggling with mental illness to find and maintain gainful employment that gives them money to pay their bills, as well as a sense of purpose and well-being. However, as it stands at this moment, there is a need for employers who are willing to accommodate those with mental illness, as well as employees with normal everyday needs.
There is not enough protection to prevent people who have difficulties in life, such as mental illness or simply an adverse life event, from losing their jobs and not enough assistance to help them exercise the protections they do have, such as the ADA, to keep their jobs or receive compensation for wrongful termination. As many Americans are struggling with the cost of living, even a person without a disorder is a job loss or missed paycheck away from being behind on their bills or potentially homeless.
Is productivity really more important than the humans for whom the work is for or who do the work?
References
Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). Understanding the stress response. Harvard Health. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
MedCentral. (n.d.). Trauma and homelessness: Mental health. MedCentral. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.medcentral.com/behavioral-mental/trauma/trauma-and-homelessness-mental-health
Psychology Today. (2021, May). The complex link between homelessness and mental health. Psychology Today. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-matters-menninger/202105/the-complex-link-between-homelessness-and-mental-health?msockid=34f37b037b326aa728076d187a5d6bb2
U.S. – USA Today. (2025, May 1). Americans one crisis away from homelessness. USA Today. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/05/01/americans-one-crisis-away-from-homelessness/83388068007/
U.S. White House. (2025, July 24). Ending crime and disorder on America’s streets [Executive Order]. The White House. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/
WebMD. (n.d.-a). What are symptoms of PTSD? WebMD. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-symptoms-ptsd
WebMD. (n.d.-b). What are symptoms of PTSD? WebMD. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-symptoms-ptsd
The Diary Of A Flopping Fish and any posts or articles published on Diaryofafloppingfish.com are not reviewed by a therapist or medical or mental health professional. Resources are cited and opinion is opinion. No advice or opinions in any articles replace professional advice from a doctor, therapist, or any other kind of health professional. The author is not a licensed professional of any kind.
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