Individual Needs Model

In the United States the homeless population continues to grow rapidly. Homelessness has been a public health issue for many decades. Often times these individuals feel as though society has turned a blind eye to them. This at risk population is seen by society as lazy or chose to live a life on the streets, but if one would examine this population closely would see that there is more to this at risk population than what society has labeled them as. The forces, which affect homelessness, are multifaceted. Social forces such as family breakdown, addictions, and mental illnesses are in combined with structural forces such as lack of low-cost housing, insufficient health services, and poor economic conditions. Many would

The most recent survey of homeless individuals conducted January 29, 2014 revealed 958 homeless adults with no dependants, 70 of which were completely unsheltered, and an additional 130 homeless adults who also had dependent children with them. 208 of these homeless adults are chronically homeless (HUD’s 2014 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs, Populations, and Subpopulations, 2014).Wayside Christian Mission reaches approximately 7,000 homeless individuals annually (Wayside Christian Mission, 2007). In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a majority of homeless individuals surveyed stated that they felt discriminated against or that they received lesser care because of their poverty or homelessness (Wen, Hudak, & Hwang, 2007). Homeless and impoverished individuals suffer from high rates of depression, psychiatric illness, alcohol and or substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, TB, Trauma, preterm birth, COPD, low birth weight, musculoskeletal problems, decreased access to care, foot problems, malnutrition, and high Emergency Room utilization (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Not only do homeless persons have a high rate of illness, but they are also less able to appropriately treat health problems. Many homeless individuals have limited access to care, cannot afford medications or nutritious food, and may have difficulty with managing a strict

The Homeless are a vulnerable population. Homelessness is a social issue that anyone can almost be subjected to despite his or her age, race, ethnicity or geographical background. Kornblum (2012) defined homelessness as… “as a social condition in which people do not have regular housing and are forced to sleep in public places, public shelters, or facilities designed for homeless individuals and families” (p.280). The homeless population faces several adversaries in their lifetime of being homeless. Their adversaries are a lack physical and emotional disabilities, and possibly drug abuse. Grant some are homeless by choice, whereas most are homeless by mishaps, but nevertheless, they are humans deserving to be treated with fairness, dignity,

The problems of homelessness and mental illness are inextricably intertwined. One way that mental illness impacts people's lives is that it oftentimes renders them unable to carry out the functions of daily life, such as keeping a job, paying their bills, and managing a household. In addition to disrupting the events of daily life, mental illness "may also prevent people from forming and maintaining stable relationships or cause people to misinterpret others' guidance and react irrationally" (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). What this means is that a population that is already vulnerable because of an inability to consistently manage self-care lacks the same safety net as much of the rest of society.

Homeless people in Allegheny County, PA are a vulnerable population that needs addressed. Homeless populations consist of individuals, families and veterans who struggle with obtaining the basic needs of life, that many take for granted. A shortage of affordable housing, not enough income to meet basic needs and inefficient support services all contribute to homelessness in the communities (In Nies & In McEwen, 2015, p. 433). Services, help, and resources are available in this county, but getting this vulnerable subset of the population to seek this help, are difficult.

The issue and problem of homelessness is and has been widespread throughout the world; different countries address the problem in a variety of ways. Here in the United States, both the government and nonprofit agencies exist in order to address the wide array of problems homelessness entails. For example, Government programs such as The Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness exist as a partnered effort by the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs, and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. These entities exist in an effort to collaboratively house and deliver services to

 “In 2010, … the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued a comprehensive plan to eradicate homelessness for all people through interagency collaboration and aligning mainstream services. A key goal is to prevent and end homelessness for all families, youth, and children within 10 years” (Bassuk, 2010, P.496). Homelessness is a situation that a person who could not afford a life and decide to beg people for help and money. Why do people become homeless is a complex question and the answer is that each person has a unique story that describes there experience. There are

The war to end homelessness seems to not have an end, although there are so many great organizations and communities working tirelessly to end homelessness. At this moment in time, there is no doubt that some communities are trying to end chronic homelessness. A chronically homeless individual is someone with a disability who lives in a place not meant for human habituation. Many communities create great programs to reduce the number of homeless individuals. In addition to that, the communities attempt to save the state several thousands of dollars that might have to be spent on those individuals that might need medical assistance or when problems with law enforcement

The moral solution to chronic homelessness is to create a support system that encourages independency as we are morally obligated to offer help, which benefits society as a whole since providing shelter is more cost efficient than the alternative and provides the foundation for people to become productive members of society. Because we are obligated to help those who cannot help themselves, creating a system that provides basic needs is a moral solution. By implementing a system that provides necessities for the homeless, we reduce annual taxpayer costs; therefore, minimizing harm on society. By encouraging independence in a system while still providing basic needs, it gives the chronically homeless the opportunity to become self reliant,

Although a person might be receiving a form of temporary shelter, this does not mean that they are non-homeless. If this temporary shelter was unavailable, the person would have no shelter. A person meeting the elements of this aforementioned definition would be assisted within my program and not rejected unless the person shows evidence of remaining stagnant in their effort to become self sufficient. My program is indented to serve all demographics of the homeless regardless of age, sex, educational level, marital status, etc. with the understanding that their pursuit for self sufficiency does not falter. My program is dedicated to partnering with staffing agencies, childcare facilities, educational facilities, medical facilities, nursing home facilities and counseling services to name a few. It is important to serve all demographics within the homeless population and not selected types of

There are many types of homelessness in our society and our community. They become homeless for different reasons; it could be intentional or uncontrolled. The two that stick out the most for my community are the push outs and the new poor. The push outs are people who are kicked out by their parents, commonly teenagers; or families and adults who are evicted from landlords. The new poor are when people become unemployed due to work skills are out-of-date because of technological changes. Some skills that are needed to help each one of these groups is to meet their current needs. As addressing the needs of the homeless it is important to focus on prevention, as well as, remediation of their problem (“What is human service,” 2011). As human service professionals should listen to their clients. When a client is speaking the clinician should pay attention, provide support, empathy, assessing, and goal setting.

As stated previously, a majority of individuals experiencing homelessness around the U.S. suffer from chronic conditions and are least likely to have a regular source of health care (cite). Chronic homeless have an average life expectancy that is 15 years shorter than the average life expectancy in the United States (infographic). Additionally, chronic homelessness is associated with high-cost services such as jail, emergency care, psychiatric care, and temporary shelters. Because stable housing is an important indicator for better health outcomes, Better Health Through Housing utilizes a Housing First model in which high hospital utilizers suffering from medical comorbidities who are also also homeless are placed in permanent housing immediately

This journal article discusses the lengthy waitlists at homeless shelters and what could possibly be done to help these individuals who face these waiting lists. According to the article, almost one third of the individuals whom are undergoing homelessness here in the United States stay in desolate locations on any given night. The accessibility of beds in shelters is not sufficient enough to meet this population’s needs. The lack of shelter beds has directed organizations to implement a range of strategies to assign shelter services. With some of the shelters having these long waiting lists, it has elevated questions about the implications of these waiting lists for the people who have immediate shelter needs. The research that was conducted

The interview suggestions share a variety of ways in improving services and access to housing programs. The suggestions from respondents are structural changes geared toward increasing the affordable housing stock for more interpersonal issues, such educating staff and the public about homeless. That current and former high-risk individuals focus on the need for affordable housing and more client-centered services, in contrast, the providers spoke of the need to create service programs tailored to the high-risk cohort, and many did not believe that street dwellers could successfully move from the streets directly into housing (Meschede, 2011). One particular situation on opposing views from the consumers and services is the medical needs. Consumers of homeless programs often do not agree with their case managers on the medical needs. According to the data provided, providers see the need for psychiatric disability and substance abuse services, but consumers focused more the services for dental and medical concerns (Meschede, 2011). Some providers believe that fear of the unknown and not wanting to leave friends on the streets as a significant barrier to success housing outcomes. Current street dwellers expressed that yes they don’t know where they will go, but when they ask for help and guide for the process to follow, no one

In my phase one school SEN pupils have access to a high quality education; the school operates support systems for SEN students, providing equal opportunities for everyone.