Assertive mental health outreach emerged in the early 1980s as clinicians and researchers learned that many individuals who are homeless and have a mental illness shun community mental health centers for a number of reasons, including 1) the requirement of the centers that the homeless acknowledge having a mental illness before receiving help, 2)the drawbacks of stigma and medication side effects that can come with treatment, and 3)the exigencies of homeless life, which may force individuals to choose between eating at a soup kitchen and keeping an appointment with a clinician. (Authors)