Abstract
A significant proportion of the homeless population suffers from serious mental illness ("SMI"), yet this group's unique needs are not being properly recognized, understood, and addressed. The researcher conducted qualitative interviews with fifteen individuals from seven San Francisco agencies that serve homeless individuals. The interviews focused on identifying service barriers to homeless individuals with SMI and identifying approaches that could effectively ameliorate these barriers. The results indicate that homeless individuals with SMI require distinct service approaches and the largest barrier to serving homeless individuals with SMI is lack of available, accessible, and appropriate resources. In order to effectively serve homeless individuals with SMI, systematic changes sensitive to this group's needs will be required on the local, state, and federal level.