In general, significant and growing numbers of individuals and families face substantial economic challenges and as a consequence, mental health challenges. Lower income group including minorities and immigrants experience a higher burden of health-related concerns. People who are homeless do exhibit several of these risk factors because of their living situations, including alcohol and drug abuse, which is common in this neighborhood. Immigrants who do not speak English well may be afraid to seek mental health care if they are undocumented. For these reasons and more, the project is crucial to the underserved people of this community. The groups targeted for outreach through this project are among the most underserved and most vulnerable group
33.7% of people who are homless will stay homeless for more than a year. This means that a large majority of vulnerable individuals such individuals living in poverty will stay living in a shelter or on the steets for more than a year until they are able to get back on their feet.Having a home is something many of us take for granted and until we face the the reality of seeing more individuals living under briges and on the corner of our communities. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone. Immigrants are more vulnerable to be be homelessness and stay homelessness than a resident (Thurston, Roy, Clow, Este, Gordey, Haworth-Brockman, & McCoy, 2013). They lack social support, not enough resources available, shortage of
Homelessness and substance abuse are often two problems that continue to be linked together. However, homelessness can be an effect of substance abuse and vice versa. Addiction problems disrupt family organization and job performance resulting in loss of housing. While homeless, recovering from an addiction can be hard with lack of resources and the ability to access the appropriate care. In the following sections of this paper we will look at interventions and its effectiveness in the helping process, a multi-cultural analysis on the effects of homelessness, social and
Health ←and→ mental health troubles reflected an extensive range of concerns centered on chronic health problems, substance abuse, psychosocial, clinically diagnosed problems, self-esteem problems. Substance abuse was noticed as a major obstacle to conquering homelessness addictive behaviors in the same way as alcoholism, drug abuse were frequently identified in
Meghan Henry, Dr. Alvaro Cortes, and Sean Morris, “The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report(AHAR) to Congress” Hudexchange.com
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 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
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 as a result of deinstitutionalization in the US increased dramatically, tripling in 182 cities over the court of the 1980s (Bagenstos, 2012). In addition, mental health and substance abuse is a major problem in across the country because of homelessness. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness (DMHAS, 2014). Consequently, mental illnesses disrupt people’s ability to carry out key aspects of daily life, such as self-care and household responsibilities. As a result of these factors and the stresses of living with a mental disorder, people with mentally illnesses are much more likely to become homeless than the general population (Karger, & Stoesz, 2014). Even if homeless individuals with mental illnesses are provided with housing, they are unlikely to achieve residential stability and remain off the streets unless they have access to continued treatment and services. In Connecticut there are a number of housing options that are in place like supportive housing. Research has shown that supported housing is effective for people with mental illnesses (DMHAS, 2014). Unfortunately, in Connecticut, lack of funding is a significant barrier to the successful implementation of supported housing programs. Because of homelessness people cycle between street corner, jail cell and hospital beds, in addition the homeless who are
Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. An incredibly vulnerable group is the homeless youth due to their young age and lack of education. According to Edidin, Ganim, Hunter, & Karnik (2012) on any particular night in the United States there are ~2 million homeless youth living on the streets, in shelters, or in other temporary accommodation. Youth become homeless for multiple reasons whether it be because they have aged out of foster care, ran from home, were kicked out of their home, or because they have become homeless along with their family members. Within the umbrella categorization of homeless youth there are high at risk subgroups, common misconceptions, and a serious concern of lack of support and medical services.
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 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.
Montgomery ( 2013)proposes a three tiered plan to prevent homelessness through intervention and eventually end homelessness among persons with mental illness as seen in Figure 1 below. This plan of primary homelessness prevention interventions would include wide-ranging efforts that target broad groups and only indirectly address homelessness. Initiatives that would reduce poverty and increase household incomes that are
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTERVENTION THAT MAY REVERSE THE FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIKELIHOOD OF BECOMING FRAIL
In both the social and individual aspect, there are people who suffer poverty, unemployment, unstable housing and homelessness, and undergo personal and family problems. While suffering from these issues, there are individuals that seek health care for themselves as well as their family but do not qualify in comparison to those with securing employment and housing. Connecting these individuals to health care resources will help reduce possible risk and work with physical, social and mental health needs of them.
Throughout history there has always been a portion of society living in disadvantaged conditions. With the current high cost of living, global issues, unemployment rate on the rise, and low wages, many Americans are finding themselves homeless. One would think that in this advanced century, there would not be individuals living without the basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. Unfortunately, there are millions of people with nowhere to sleep. Besides the many problems homeless people face daily, one of the leading problems is health care. Being homeless with limited access to health care or shelter in conjunction with mental illness or exposure to harmful diseases can lead to poor health, or