Homelessness In Human Services Essay

In the field of Human Services there are a multitude of people that need assistance. However, in each target population has their own distinct issues. Examples of these target groups or populations are people with mental illness, the homeless, and senior citizens. Mental illness is defined as when a person’s mental state is beyond what is considered normal. For instance, a person with depression has extreme lows as appose to a mentally healthy person who will bounce back from their emotional low. In fact, in the United States alone 30% of adults and 17% of youth have been diagnosed with a mental disorder. These figures are astounding and show how prevalent the group is within our society. However, many do not have access to mental health services and will turn to self-medicating themselves to try to levitate there aliments. On top of self-medicating themselves many people
But, the definition of homelessness has not be agreed upon, McKinney defined it as a person who ‘lacks fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence’. In fact many believe that the idea of homelessness is an embarrassment because the United States is such an affluent society. Though this embarrassment can be solved by providing affordable housing because many people become homeless due to cheap apartment buildings becoming high priced living spaces. Also, providing jobs and education will help because some people are homeless due to losing their source of income. Another, instance that would is to provide mental health services because many people whom are without a home are the mentally ill. The reason for this is that many who suffer with these types of illnesses are not able to hold a job and many also do not have families that are willing to take care of them. However, there are groups such as 1212 Corporation, Better Homes of Seaford, Inc., and Homeless Planning