How can I really be the same person I used to be when I was homeless and deeply affected by untreated schizophrenia? Life was full of friends at church, in school, and at the Cleveland Institute of Music where I studied violin. I never imagined that the next phase of my life, right as I was turning 21 and becoming an adult, would involve losing everything I loved and becoming homeless. The difference between untreated and treated schizophrenia can be vastly different when the right medication is found for each individual. One of the biggest barriers to treatment for schizophrenia is lack of insight, as people cannot tell how much they have changed and how ill they are.