title: Identifying marginal housing for people with a mental illness living in rural and regional areas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Homelessness among people with a mental illness is a serious issue. The purpose of the present study was to identify the types of housing available for people with a mental illness in the region, to develop an audit tool to assess the housing of patients of the mental health service, and to pilot this audit tool.
  
  
  METHODS
  Key informants were interviewed to obtain information about the type of housing options available in the Loddon Campaspe Southern Mallee Region, Victoria, Australia. This information was used to develop a survey to audit the housing status of existing patients of the area mental health service. A pilot study using the survey was completed by case managers for 81 patients who were being case managed by the area mental health service.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a wide variety of housing options in the region but housing availability was not evenly distributed. Although most patients lived in owned or rented accommodation, a substantial proportion of patients had difficulties with accessing the required services, the affordability of their housing, uncertainty of tenure or were at risk of violence within their housing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A substantial proportion of patients treated by a rural area mental health service had lived in impoverished housing.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Rural Mental Health, Bendigo Health Care Group, Bendigo,Victoria 3552, Australia.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grigg
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Judd
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komiti
mesh_terms: D019090:Case Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards; D006798:Housing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D020380:Needs Assessment; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011204:Poverty Areas; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014739:Victoria