Community Recovery Project Summary

“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not

According to the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), disease was prevalent in the newly homeless. This population accessed health care services at high rates in the year before becoming homeless. Significant improvements in health status were seen over the study period as well as a significant increase in the number who were insured (American Journal of Public Health, 2012). The homeless in Overtown face a variety of risks and barriers to their health. Firstly, a good number of the population suffers from mental illness, they suffer from a range of mental health problems from depression, personality disorders, schizophrenia and many more. Most are unable to treat their mental

Homelessness has been a social problem for a long time so by trying to enable the individuals to gain access to the same health care as others it may prevent the amount of deaths of homeless people. It was found that just over a third of homeless person’s deaths were due to alcohol and drug misuse; if homeless individuals had access to a GP or health services they may be able to be referred and continuously reviewed to enable them to stop the substance misuse.

For five of the seven states to be in the leading eleven of homeless population holds a 0.36% chance of happening, approximately 1 in 300. With the common knowledge of marijuana being a “gateway drug,” and Seattle now illegally approving sites for addicts to safely inject drugs, the attraction of addicts should not be a surprise. In combination with these addicts inevitably comes the homeless. This is represented by the unavoidable fact that two years prior to the legalization of marijuana, the Seattle-area saw an average increase of about 250 unsheltered homeless per year until the legalization of marijuana not so coincidentally brought that number to nearly 700 per year (Potts). In addition, according to a survey of 1,050 homeless in the Seattle-area, 55% admit to using drugs or alcohol, with a staggering 17.2% using methamphetamine, 12.2% using heroin, and 5.5% using crack (Klein). For people incapable of affording a home or maintaining a job, it is astounding that so many continue to afford and use drugs. Not only is the number of homeless in the Seattle-area a problem, but their habits are

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The widespread of the crack cocaine in the 1980 also increased homelessness. Many individuals suffering from homelessness also suffer from many different type of drug addictions. It is estimated that 40 % of homeless people are dependent on alcohol and 25% on other drugs. Alcoholism is increasingly being recognized as the most pervasive health problem for homeless. In addition homeless alcohol dependent individuals have a higher prevalence of other psychiatric disorders and more impaired in their social and vocational functioning. Alcoholism and the behaviors coupled with it have a huge influence on physical health. Majority of studies conducted on homelessness and drugs

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age (WHO, 2016). This current event relates to the social determinants of health because homelessness has a huge impact on someone’s overall health and quality of life. People who experience homelessness do not have the resources to maintain their health. This can lead to stress, depression, substance abuse, and a number of problems. They are exposed to communicable diseases, malnutrition and many other health issues. Over 500,000 Americans are homeless every night (Kertesz, 2016). This is why we have Health Care for the Homeless programs. The majority of federally funded organizations for the homeless are operated properly. But, there are some

The first key finding I found most profound was a study by the State of Homelessness Report. This study found there was 549,928 people homeless on one night in 2016 (State of Homelessness Report et al.,). The second point I found interesting was from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and they discovered there was approximately 39,471 veterans homeless on any night. The department also found that 11% of homeless adults are US Veterans (Anonymous et al., 2012). A third finding I found intriguing was a study in 2015 revealing there was over 2,000 homeless people in

Healthcare plays an important part in life, especially for the ones who need it most such as veterans. If veterans cannot receive the medical help they need they will end up getting very sick and will start dying. In a study by the Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Department of Veterans Affairs and Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, “This study directly compared mortality risk in homeless and

The research article I chose to analyze, Housing First Services for People who Are Homeless with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse, studied the outcomes of alcohol and substance abuse as well as participation in substance abuse and mental health treatment between people in housing first programs and treatment first programs in New York City. The two research questions asked were, “Are there group differences in alcohol and drug use at 48 months?” and “Are there group differences in participation in substance abuse and mental health treatment at 48 months?” (Padgett, Gulcur, & Tsemberis, 2006, p. 76). The purpose of this study was to find out

The federal and local community resources dedicated to the treatment and prevention of substance use, has become a valuable tool in the process of recovery. Chemically dependent individuals often have a variety of psychosocial problems in addiction to addiction, such as financial, housing, criminal, and poor social support that often leads to poor treatment retention and higher risk of relapse according to Krupski, et. al. (2009). Therefor the need for community resources is critical to the success of the original treatment. When investigating into the federal resources available, there becomes a view into a larger problem with chemical dependency as government agencies compile statistical data of therapeutic approaches, cultural diversity,

Children with little to no supervision or protection are more likely to be abused or thrown into jail due to misdemeanor activities. Lastly, veterans suffer from high levels of depression and mental illnesses (Zlotnick, 2013). Living on the street brings unfortunate tragedies such as rapes, violence, and theft yet the biggest issues homeless individuals face are serious health conditions (cite). Exposure to unsanitary conditions leads to acute and chronic illnesses such as ulcers, respiratory infections and dental problems just to name a few. Compared to the general population, substance abuse plays a huge role in health conditions for homeless individuals (Zlotnick, 2013). With crack cocaine being the main choice of drug, individuals using infected needles are more prone to catching the HIV virus and not receive treatment (North,

According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, only 16% of the single adult homeless population suffer from some form of mental illness and according to the National Coalition to the Homeless, The increasingness of homelessness over that past two decades can not be explained by addiction alone

​Homelessness and substance abuse are often two problems that continue to be linked together. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (2011), research conducted in the past five years indicates that about 50% of those who are homeless have co-occurring substance abuse problems. Along with co-occurring substance abuse problems, there continues to be other problems such as treatment access to those who are homeless. In this paper we will explore research on the homeless population in relation to substance abuse, and effective interventions on an individual level.

The homeless are a vulnerable population. They are defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as “an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” (The National Health Care for the Homeless Council, 2016). They are a social group throughout the US who are susceptible to all of the life’s cruelties. They are much more at risk for adverse illnesses due to their lack of available resources and medical help. Many have predetermined illnesses which need daily treatment but cannot acquire the medication needed. The homeless population lacks the funding for life’s necessities, thus the luxury of insurance and medicine is a dream.