Reference no: EM133918742

Reading: HOMELESS POPULATIONS

Was I always going to be here? No I was not. I was going to be homeless at one time, a taxi driver, truck driver, or any kind of job that would get me a crust of bread. You never know what's going to happen. Morgan Freeman Homeless people include single men, families with children led by single heads of households (women), single women (bag ladies), and children (<18 years) who lack adult supervision. In developed countries, the majority of homeless people are male and more likely to be black, veterans, unemployed, struggle with mental health challenges and/or addictions, and are victims of domestic violence (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2018). Many of these people take refuge in homeless shelters, and others live in abandoned buildings, jails, hospitals, parks, airports, and bus/train stations, as well as under bridges or in the entries to buildings. Homelessness has many causes. Reasons for homelessness include the deinstitutionalization efforts of the 1960s to mainstream the mentally ill into society, unemployment and underemployment, domestic violence, abandonment, natural disasters and fires, disability, substance abuse and addiction, immigration, and political unrest and wars (National Coalition for the Homeless). Historically, many circumstances have led to homelessness, including freedom from slavery, westward expansion, lumber and railroad work, the Great Depression, and the aftereffects of war. In recent years, the shortage of affordable housing has been a key reason (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2018). Reaching homeless people is difficult. It is not easy to provide care with trained and experienced inter-professional teams because of the inability to locate clients in the community by address or phone. Many homeless people have complications complications from decreased hygiene, hypothermia, and hyperthermia; suffer from lice and scabies; and have diseases or conditions such as tuberculosis, HIV infection, substance abuse and addiction, and dental problems. Even trimorbidity (i.e., substance addiction, mental illness, and another chronic health problem such as hypertension) is common in the homeless. It takes much time and energy to build trust with the homeless before the many comorbidities with which they are burdened can be addressed. Some approaches to administering healthcare to the homeless have included not just offering shelter, but also offering harm reduction as a way to keep clients alive without further complicating their serious situations. For example, offering needle cleaning kits to users of intravenous drugs may decrease the use of dirty needles at the individual and population level, or providing mobile homeless units may make healthcare more accessible. Even with these efforts, homeless people may refuse assistance. To promote accessibility to healthcare for these people, community and public health nurses should approach homeless people in the following ways: Show respect and use a positive approach, which builds trust. Support primary (advocacy), secondary (tuberculosis screening), and tertiary ("detox" treatment) prevention to make it easier to cope with difficult, challenging lives.

Why is it that single men are prominently represented in the homeless population but are underserved by current homeless shelters.