Half of all homeless people have mental health problems. A third of them became homeless because of their illness.

"It's a truly horrible feeling," he says.

"I had different sounds mumbling in my ears all the time, saying horrible things.

I didn't realise it was just my mind playing tricks on me."

Increasingly desperate, he started to harm himself; he eventually took an overdose and ended up in hospital.

Once he had been weaned off alcohol, he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. When he left hospital, the local branch of mental health charity Mind found him a place in a residential care home. After six years there, he was ready to live by himself, although help from Mind is still there if he needs it.

"The day Mind told me they'd got me a place of my own I felt happy, excited," says Mark. "I thought, 'this is a new change in my life, a step forward.' Getting me this place is the best thing they could have done for me."

Mark is on a strict medication routine and his condition has been stable for five years. Mind has helped him to get part-time voluntary work at Birmingham's City Hospital, talking to patients and helping staff. He says: "It feels good to be able to do someone else a good turn after all the help I've had."

Mind helps thousands of people like Mark every year, many of them with serious housing needs. Its chief executive Richard Brook was formerly in charge of Christian Alliance Housing Association, and this background makes him well aware of the links between bad housing and mental illness.

"If you're struggling with poor housing – you're cold and damp – this increases stresses and strains," he says. "If you're struggling to deal with mental health problems you can't deal with repairs and upkeep, which in turn can lead to tenancy breakdown and further mental illness. It's a circular problem."

The issue is even more pressing now the government has yet again rejected calls to update mental health care with a dedicated bill in the Queen's Speech, he adds.

Government figures show that half of all homeless people have mental health problems. Of these, nine out of 10 were ill before they lost their home. In a third of all cases, mental illness was a direct contributory factor to becoming homeless in the first place. One in eight homeless people have spent some time in a psychiatric hospital in the previous year. Mental health is the reason behind one in 10 homeless households defined by the government as in priority housing need – the largest single factor excluding children or pregnancy. That's more than 3170 households.

Many other mentally ill people – there are no statistics on how many – are living in inappropriate housing that leaves them vulnerable and isolated, making their problems worse. This issue is particularly prevalent in London and the South. Without help, these people could end up back in hospital, or on the streets.

Stigmatisation
Life is tough for anyone who is homeless, but the mentally ill face their own specific problems. Not least is the appalling stigmatisation they suffer, despite the fact that one in four people will suffer some form of mental illness during their lives. Figures from the Royal College of Psychiatrists show 66% of the general public still believe a schizophrenic person is a danger to others.

Cath Hart, senior housing worker at the Hull and East Yorkshire branch of Mind, says the biggest problem she faces is protecting the mentally ill from the wider community: "Some of our residents are targeted for money, some for medication, and some are just hated because they can look different. Harassment of this kind just means they won't go out, and this perpetuates the isolation they feel."

At Christmas, it's even easier to feel isolated, but it's also a time that the support services on which mentally ill people rely may not be available. This is where Mind steps in.

  "It's well known that for those excluded, the Christmas period just accentuates feelings of isolation and loneliness," says Brook. "It's at this exact time that it is hardest to access mental health services. When the local authorities shut down for the holidays, Mind is the main place people can turn to."

Mind works
Mind combines a national campaigning body, working to influence public opinion and government policy, with 200 local organisations providing help on the ground. Mind's partner organisations in local communities offer a range of services, from drop-in centres to hostels, on to full supported housing. Mind Birmingham, for instance, supports more than 600 mentally ill people in the city through six residential care homes, a nursing home, 106 supported homes and various drop-in centres and outreach services.

In supported housing, a Mind support worker will provide as little or as much help as required, on everything from reporting house repairs to coming to terms with symptoms such as hearing voices.

Mind's national helpline, meanwhile, offers free, sympathetic advice to people trying to navigate the mental health services labyrinth, or to families and friends affected by a loved one's illness.

For sufferers, all this can make the difference between having a home or homelessness, says Helen Wadley, head of the Birmingham service: "It's about giving people the self-respect to live independently, giving them a better quality of life. We want to get to a stage where those with mental health problems aren't defined by their illness anymore, but are treated as people."

Donating money to Mind this Christmas will help local projects targeted at housing vulnerable people while contributing cash to running the helpline. The charity has pledged that donations from Housing Today readers will go directly to these schemes.

Despite being a very worthy cause, many people choose to turn a blind eye. Brook says: "If we were Battersea Dogs Home or any kind of charity to do with children, we'd have no problem raising money at this time of year.

"Without the support that we provide, tenancies will break down," says Brook. "Without the work that Mind does, mentally ill people will go back on the streets."

That is why Mind needs your money this Christmas.