Jim Withers Heroes

I come from a fairly large city in California so I’ve been around many homeless people throughout my life. I’ve had good and bad experiences when it comes to being around them and dealing with them. My initial view of the homeless is that they are somewhat lazy and that a lot of them are on drugs. I feel this way because I’ve seen and dealt with so many sick, obnoxious people on the streets aggressively asking for money. I always think to myself, if I were in that situation I would find a way. There are so many resources that help people get back on their feet. Instead of begging on the streets, I would go get help. Instead of asking

Rhetorical Analysis Paper Staff Writer Kevin Fagan for The San Francisco Chronicle, in his article "Homeless, Mike Dick was 51, Looked 66," defines the dramatic, life altering, effects of older homeless people living in San Francisco, CA. Fagan acknowledges the rising problem of homelessness and uses Mike Dick a homeless man as the face of what it looks like for so many. He describes the effects of homelessness to his Chronicle readers, but offers a ray of hope to some that is face with this horrible problem daily. Fagan investigates the rising problem of homelessness in America. Particularly in San Francisco where he works and lives.

Eigner strengthens the credibility of his essay with the appeal of ethos. In what could be his essay’s thesis he says, “I have learned much as a scavenger. I mean to put some of what I have learned down here, beginning with the practical art of dumpster diving and proceeding to the abstract.” This example of first person point of view not only shows his intelligence, disproving those who would stereotype the homeless as illiterate and furthering his credibility, it also appeals to the intended audience of his peers and academics.

Where we are is the grand culmination of hundreds of years of cooperating as a species to make for a grander environment that appeals to “all.” Despite our constant effort to improve the quality of life on earth, however, an increasingly tremendous problem pertaining the same subject has been growing “right below our noses”: homelessness. We, the common people, typically place those in such plight into great disregard; push them not off the streets but to the far back of our heads. In the article “On Compassion”, former NEW YORK TIMES columnist, Barbara Ascher, teaches us the ignorance of our denial and the importance of the helpless’ presence, and she does this through the heavy use of contrast, figurative language, a good quantity of rhetorical questions, and some very clever wording. She suggested that the presence of the homeless helps teach us compassion. Afterall, “compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned.”

Despite unions questioning whether moving the homeless to the hospitals is humane or not, removing them from their homes in public areas and putting them in hospitals, the author still believes that the mayor’s notion is humane; however also fearing it is more than just compassion and could potentially just be the result of the mayor having ulterior motives. While it appears that the mayor’s actions were the result of a compassionate heart, the author quickly brings the reader back to Earth with the reality that the mayor may not be as kindhearted as originally thought. This is the final scenario that Ascher uses to relay the point that ulterior motives and feelings can be masked by what appears to be compassion and can easily go overlooked by many people who have not questioned why certain actions and decisions are made. Barbara Lazear Ascher, however, questioned the mayor’s notion and brought a previously unpopular opinion to light and as a result the reader can decide what he or she believes, while it seems in this specific scenario that it is quite possible that the mayor had other reasons besides compassion for displacing the homeless of New York City. This scenario just adds to the debate of whether or not compassion oftentimes masks true deeper emotions and

The homeless population will only increase with our current economic status. Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring states that “intentionality is the projection of awareness, with purpose and efficacy toward some object or outcome” (Leuning, 2001, p. 300). Healthcare organizations and nurses need to collaborate using intentionality. The vulnerability status of the homeless is higher than most due to their lack of basic human needs of food, water, and shelter. The homeless population succumbs to a variety of chronic illnesses and disease, such as tuberculosis, AIDS/HIV, malnutrition and severe dental problems. They also fall prey to parasites, frostbite, infection and violence (Basics of Homelessness, 2002). These reasons alone prove that the homeless population needs to receive specialized care designed around their lifestyles. As one can see, this population is not going away and the problem will only continue to grow. It is up to nurses and other healthcare professionals to advocate for these individuals and help make a change by using specialized assessment tools and learning more about programs specifically for the homeless By ensuring that these individuals receive the proper follow up care through a collaborative effort of nurses, doctors, social workers, case managers, and psychiatric professionals, there will be a

In "The Thematic Paradigm", Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. "The attractiveness of the outlaw hero's childishness and propensity to whims, tantrums, and emotional decisions derived from America's cult of childhood", states Ray. (309) Ray also says, "To the outlaw hero's inconsistence on private standards of right and wrong, the official hero offered the admonition, you cannot

The clinical issues affecting the homeless individual can range from mental illness to health issues. Several clinical issues affect the homeless population because of lack of health insurance and clinical resources. “The clinical issues affecting homeless people are dental, vision, foot diseases, post-traumatic arthritis, HIV, TB, STD’s respiratory infections, diabetes, hypertension, and nutritional problems are all major clinical issues” (Zevin, 2013). Quite a few people are homeless and suffer from various clinical issues because they have no insurance, housing, support from family/friends, or program resources. It seems when populations such homelessness is so huge some are left behind with no help. Various social service organizations exist that cater to the homeless population, but so many individuals and families are not helped because of mis-direction. Health care is an important factor to many, especially those who do not have access to a health care facility. Social services resources are available as well as the human service

Always, I was told from parents and elders that anyone can achieve their dreams through arduous work and dedication. Surprisingly, I hadn’t pondered this until I observed a shivering homeless person standing at the corner asking for help on one snowy, frosty winter day. This affected my life greatly. On the way, I just started thinking about the life of homeless people and how they are not fortunate enough to get their own place to live, their choice of delicious food to eat and several other amenities that we all enjoy in our everyday lives. An incident, like this, sparked an enthusiastic sense of compassion and empathy in me. Along with my family, I started thinking deeply and my thoughts to help the homeless expanded to other areas and I wanted to start helping the community around me as much as possible.

It goes without saying, regarding any homeless population, that any medical services brought to them will yield a positive health outcome. It is predicted that an MMU in Burbank for the homeless, will treat small medical events, diagnose new cases and treat existing conditions of chronic, communicable, ad acute diseases, along with making referrals to specialists and housing authorities. These types of services have an overall impact, in that they decrease emergency room and hospitalization rates, as well as the financial burden on the community. The partnerships that are forming to facilitate these services increase the longevity and sustainability of the community, while homeless individuals become more health literate, along with developing trust in their MMU staff and community.

Today, if we see a multitude of skin on the road settled, that there is nothing strange. In fact, according to The State of Homelessness in America 2013, 610,042 people were experiencing homelessness; as the result, we can see a significant number through that report. Due to that reason, many charities have been established to be able to help the homelessness. According to me, one of the charities that I appreciate is Thomas House which is an Orange County non-profit organization for homeless because it provide a safe, supportive environment and the resources necessary for homeless families with children while empowering them to become independent and self-sufficient.

199-200). The concept of aiding the recipient who is unable to follow the proper directions of a prescribed medication is a contributing factor to the successful treatment of mental illness. This is especially true with the homeless population. Most homeless people lack insurance and healthcare services, which necessitate the use of the emergency room as their primary venue of medical assistance. When people do not have the access that they need to meet the medical demands for their illness, then that illness will remain stagnant. Because most homeless people do not have health insurance, this limits their access to the necessary doctors, or hospitals in which they can receive the proper care. Due to this flourishing issue, many communities have instituted services that operate specifically to help the homeless population with mental illness.

By using precise negative and positive imagery to display the way homeless are seen and should be treated, Ascher argues that homeless people should be respected. Ascher describes the nightly activities of the Box Man as he runs down the street, Ascher writes, “His collar was pulled so high that he appeared headless.” By depicting the Box Man as headless, he is seen as a monster and therefore loses

Society labels him with stereotypes, such as “other” and “deviant,” often refusing to serve or to be in close proximity to this homeless person (Wright 7). Such treatment destroys a person’s dignity and self-respect. SOME is a unique organization, for it not only provides the needy with food, clothing, and shelter, but the volunteer group also offers medical, dental, personal hygiene, and counseling services (Foundation). With this type of attention, the homeless can escape the negative labels that society forces on them because they do not appear to be homeless. By offering these special personal services, SOME instills a sense of personal dignity in a homeless person.

Access to health care for the homeless is limited because of lack of benefits and health insurance, money, attitude of some health care professionals, language barrier, fear, mistrust, inability to understand medical information, the inability to follow the treatment due to cost or availability, resources, education and transportation. The homeless contributes to their ill health due to their lack of self-care and access to health services as well as a high exposure to diseases and parasites easily spread in crowded conditions, such as shelters (Zlotnick, Zerger, and Wolfe, 2013, p. S199). Most homeless people are uninsured but have a significance in health care needs, which leads to conflict. Unfortunately, most homeless people are not able to receive health care due to the factors listed