A few years back when I took my Intro to Sociology class, I learned an important idea about human relationships. The professor drew a bunch of dots on the board. Each dot represeted a person, and lines drawn between each dot represented relationships between the two people represented by those dots. The thicker the line, the stronger the relationships.

“Which scenario is better?” he asked. Is it better to have a few thick lines, or a whole bunch of thinner lines? In other words, is it better for a person to maintain a few strong friendships, or a large number of weak relationships?

Not to say that one is better than the other, but the evidence shows that the second option (many acquaintances) represents a strong social network — those folks are more likely to get better jobs, organize political and/or social groups, be open to new ideas, and possibly reap physical and mental health benefits. This is known as the strength of weak ties.

A recent report in the Washington Post gave a dramatic example of the importance of social networks in maintaining good mental health:

“If you have a cardiovascular problem, I would prefer to be a citizen in Los Angeles than in India,” said Benedetto Saraceno, director of the department of mental health and substance abuse at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva. “If I had cancer, I would prefer to be treated in New York than in Iran. But if you have schizophrenia, I am not sure I would prefer to be treated in Los Angeles than in India.”

It goes to show that despite whatever wealth and scientific knowledge has accumulated in the industrialized nations over the 20th century, there is still much to learn. To say that mental health is a purely chemical matter misses the point entirely.

I’ve read several independent sources now that claim to say that a combination of medication and therapy is the most effective way to treat most mental disorders. In depression, for example, certain core areas of the brain tend to shrink. Medicine such as Prozac helps those areas of the brain grow back, but therapy helps dictate how they grow back.

Schizophrenia is a different issue from depression, though it is related — it’s all about the brain. The Post article described the stories of people who recovered from schizophrenia without any need for drugs and therapy. Whether these patients actually had schizophrenia or one of another twenty disorders similar to it is unknown. Whatever the case, it is estimated that up to half of the homeless we see on the streets have the disease.

What I’ve heard from some knowledgable sources about the subject of schizophrenics on the streets is that in many cases, they can be given medication and would act “normal,” as though the disorder was not evident. Many have been given medication, but choose not to take it. The greater challenge for these cases is to show more compassion by doing more than just throwing pills at the problem. Taking pills that help the brain regrow without a way to help shape that regrowth can’t do a whole lot of good.

The United Way’s Commission on Homelessness is about to enter a major phase of showing the sort of compassion we need in our city through the opening of a 24-hour service center. Giving the homeless population a vehicle to establish personal connections based on trust — social networks, if you will — will be more effective than any previous effort at helping those in need here at home.

There is more, of course. In order to find housing for the homeless, that housing must exist. Establishing communities that are conducive to strong social networks (i.e., not suburbs) would be a start. Encouraging real estate developers to provide workforce housing within their developments is a tall order. But to solve this problem of homelessness, it also takes homes in strong communities. We could simply call it: connecting the dots.