Homelessness is a cause of various health problems. The lack of a home already predisposes the homeless person to many health problems. Certain illnesses have a close association with poverty. These include malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and dental problems. These when added to the already difficult situation of homeless people makes their situation even more devastating. The health problems of the homeless person are further compounded by the fact that they do not have health insurance. Other problems that homeless people include frostbite, bing victims of parasites and infections as well as violence. Due to the nature of their situation finding health care is not a priority for most homeless people. For them other issues like food, clothing, shelter and safety are more pressing needs. Consequently most homeless people will only receive health care when a minor health problem morphs into a medical emergency (NCHC, 2007).
Interventions for homeless people are hindered by other factors that seem to increase their risk for health problems and that also making assisting them more difficult. Often, the homeless have issues like domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness and physical illness as well. These work in conjunction with issues like racial discrimination , low wages, unemployment and poor housing too compound the problem further. Many times the homeless individual will get treated but this will be when their condition has become too serious to ignore. The problem with this is that the treatment becomes very expensive when the high costs could have been avoided. Another problem created by failure to get treatment early is the possibility of creating a public health emergency especially where the homeless person has a communicable or infectious disease. The disease is a health hazard not only to other homeless people but also to the public at large.
The health care for the Homeless project which receive funding from the Public Health Service is on of the programs that has been in existence to help solve the problem of health care for homeless people. The projects have been instrumental in the establishment of clinics at points where homeless people gather such as shelters and soup kitchens. To reach even more homeless people medical vans go out to parks and encampments as well as underpasses where outreach workers seek out the most isolated homeless people and engage them in matters of their health with an aim of determining their health status and helping to solve their health problems (NCHC,2007).
The teams working in the health care projects have a holistic approach. This approach is necessary to assist people move out of the Homeless situation. The teams go a step further than traditional medicine by attempting to address problems of employment, income, substance abuse and relationships within the family. The success of the project can be attributed to the design of the project and the fact that the local community enjoys control o f the project. The design is such that the HCH project ties to fill those gaps left by the health care delivery system. The project has working relationships with the mental health care providers, hospital services and shelter providers making it an effective provider of quality and cost-effective health care for the homeless (NCHC. 2007).
Families experience various types of problems ranging from school failure, depression, family violence to delinquency and prostitution. Many times people start families without the awareness of problems they will encounter. For instance grandparents taking care of a child that can neither hear nor speak are faced by special challenges or parents who are simply overwhelmed by the demands of taking care of a young child and meeting demands of the workplace. Resolution of problems experienced by families is hindered by several factors. First among these is is low income and unemployment. These make it difficult for the parent(s) to provide for the child adequately increasing stress levels and tensions in the home. Substance abuse among low income earners is a common personal issue and often this paves the way for violence in the family leading to a dysfunctional family. A low income family will most likely also have transportation problems. This is a problem when there is a young child because of the frequent medical appointments which if not kept will compromise the health and wellbeing of the child.
For families with such problems, the Family and Children’s Services is a welcome agency that helps in prevention of problems by teaching parenting skills and providing conflict resolution and anger management classes. These are especially important for the prevention of violence within families. The FCS also achieves its mission of building families that are strong by looking for means through which the conditions of the community can be changed. This involves bringing together the families that face similar challenges for purposes of providing mutual support and comfort and also pooling together resources and ideas. In addition it also helps in providing an avenue through which advocacy for children’s issues can be carried out. The FCS has professionals working in it who provide counseling services to those who need them( FCS, 2007). Other programs within the FCS geared to wards prevention nd resolution of problems include the community building and civic engagement programs, MOVE (Mobilizing and Organizing for Victory and Empowerment). MOVE is an advocacy group that deals with issues like racial and economic justice with the aim of improving the conditions of families. Development of community leadership is also another program that mentors young people and provides opportunity for leadership by encouraging them to get involved in community issues.
The FCS has been helpful in bringing about welfare reform, changes in schools and peacekeeping activities in the community. Other current issues being addressed by committees include predatory lending, rights of immigrants and the rights of tenants (FCS,2007).
References
Family and Children Services, FCS, retrieved from http://www.famchildserv.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6AB285E8-F2AA-4148-A3D2-9A0137F425BB}
National Health Care for the Homeless, Basics of Homelessness, retrieved from http://www.nhchc.org/Publications/basics_of_homelessness.html