Homeless Chicago Woman Arrested 396 Times Since 1978 Ordered To Get Help: Was Physically Abused By Mother

The homeless Chicago woman, who has been arrested 396 times since 1978 and has been ordered by a judge to enter a mental health and substance abuse program, was physically abused by her mother as a child, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Shermain Miles, the 51-year-old who has been described as "acutely psychotic," sent a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times last spring, where she mentioned that she believes people are trying to kill and steal from her.

One of her sisters later revealed in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times that their mother abused all of her children, but that Shermain Miles was specifically targeted and bullied by her, beginning years of mental anguish and instability.

'We were all abused by my mom, but Shermain was abused more than any of us,' one of Shermain Miles' sisters told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"It's the root cause of all her problems."

The homeless Chicago woman's sister also told the Chicago Sun-Times that they never met their father and that their mother died in 1994.

Following their mother's death, the sisters were brought to a foster care center, but Shermain Miles wasn't able to adjust, leaving her homeless by the age of 14.

Subsequent to her initial homelessness, the Chicago woman had a daughter as a teenager, who now lives in Minnesota, the Chicago Sun-Times also reports.

"The system-strapped by overcrowded prisons and cuts to mental health funding-hasn't been able to save Miles from herself or to help the communities she menaces," an article published by the Chicago Sun-Times read.

"Nothing has worked. Not jail. Not prison. Not countless psychological exams."