Two Years on the Streets of San Francisco: Homelessness up Close and Personal

Dr. Okin will talk about what inspired him to write the book Silent Voices: People with Mental Disorders on the Street, his experiences on the street, what he learned from homeless mentally ill people about their lives, and what they were like as human beings up close and personal. He’ll also discuss the causes of homelessness, including the role of governments at all levels in creating and perpetuating this humanitarian crisis, what has made it so persistent and what we as ordinary citizens can do to intervene. Dr. Robert Okin attended college and medical school at the University of Chicago, internship and psychiatric residency at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center. Following two years at the National Institute of Mental Health, I was appointed Commissioner of Mental Health for the states of Vermont and Massachusetts where I created scores of outpatient programs for very disabled psychiatric patients. Shortly after this I spent 17 years as Chief of Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at UCSF, followed by 2 years on the streets of SF meeting with homeless people in preparation for my book “Silent Voices: People with Mental Disorders on the Streets.” I have worked in 12 countries advocating for people in abusive mental hospitals. I currently see psychiatric patients in private practice. https://zoom.us/j/94180500771?pwd=TXRoMmhmY01EVkl2UXRMaWpoZ3lEUT09 Meeting ID: 941 8050 0771 Passcode: 557795