Dehumanisation is the denial of full humanity in others along with the cruelty and suffering that accompany it. A practical definition refers to it as the viewing and the treatment of other people as though they lack the mental capacities that are commonly attributed to humans.
Homelessness in my experience seems to be the delimiter of how we separate people as human or less human in the UK. My experience is the same can be true of mental illness to a lesser extent.
As a homeless person I was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital but not sectioned. Although I had the freedom to leave, the question was where could I go? In the end the choice of a warm bed & free food made me stay. The abuse from people in the name of the state was my cost.
When I had a psychosis episode recently I chose to lay in Long grass like a Lion in the park. A group of young men were hostile towards me and asked what I was doing. I told them I was homeless and this appeared for them to be more threatening towards me.
My conclusion is if you appear to deprive someone of a home or are homeless you become less human to many people in the UK. A human being is the sum of their possessions rather than of their character and moral behaviour. I hope one day more people discover their true humanity.