Case study – Riverdale house is a small residential care home for ten older people, all of who have some kind of impairment. Some have dementia, meaning that they are forgetful, some have arthiritis making it difficult for them to move independantly, some have a stroke meaning thet they have poor senstationin the effected side of the body.…
He further states that the elderly are probably the biggest group of people that EMTs will treat in their careers. The author gives several examples in his book of how the elderly can be different from other patients and how certain things can affect them more. Mr. Dick also wants EMTs to understand how the elderly feel about the current condition of their lives. They have gone from being independent in all areas in their lives to needing help getting dressed and cleaning themselves. They are people just like everyone else and deserve to be treated as…
A problem that persists through every part of the world is a lack of compassion for the homeless. No matter how many charities are available for people to donate to, they are often careless and forgetful. This problem stems from laziness and a lack of motivation to be involved. This carelessness can account for the lack of resources or the lack of knowledge about resources for the homeless.…
According to Amnews.com (2009) “Emergency department clinicians are obliged to confront a remarkably depressing fact of American life, namely, the existence each night of approximately 700,000 Americans who have no place to sleep, whose indignities are legion, and whose needs may not fit the typical definition of medical care” (p. 2). In part due to deficient access to other regular sources of outpatient medical care or nonmedical sustenance needs; homeless individuals are more likely than others to use emergency department services. In the United States, a homeless person is defined as an individual with a disabling condition that has been homeless for at least one year. Homeless patience’s vary from individuals that have spent their lives…
“Across the country, about 9.6 million families spend over half of their income on housing” (Vestal). Numbers like this wouldn’t be so large if these issues were paid more attention to. These families are just trying to have a home, and a roof over their heads to keep them sheltered. They shouldn’t have to go completely broke because of this. If there were more opportunities for these families to have more affordable housing there wouldn’t be so many people struggling to make ends meet. Even with the help of the state, if the family gets it, their lives will still continue to unravel without stable housing (Vestal). That is why these families keep using most of their income to pay for their home. There was a national increase in poverty…
Homeless people are a part of a vulnerable population who face a very real risk of developing health issues at a rate higher than the rest of the population due to certain disadvantages and co-morbidities. The homeless population is often exposed to the harsh elements of the weather and lack access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and medication. Housing in shelters and transitional homes are not constant and reliable, leaving the homeless population no choice but to spend their days and nights out in the streets. A vulnerable population is defined as those who are at a higher risk than others of developing health issues due to their social status, personal finances, lack of access to resources, or personal characteristics such as age,…
Transitional Homelessness identifies those individuals that registers in a shelter for a day or up to one year. Younger adults are likely to be categorized under Transitional. Episodic is another form of Homelessness that affect individuals that occasionally enter shelter homes and not on a consistent basis. Factors such as Unemployment, Substance Abuse, and Mental Illness, and Domestic Violence have been identified as the main causes leading to homelessness. Episodic Homelessness are individuals that often register in and out of a shelter. Individuals are likely to be young in age, and go through chronic unemployment, substance abuse, and mental illness.…
Veterans are more likely than civilians to experience homelessness. They experience a distinct set of challenges, both during service and upon their return, which preset obstacles when trying to tackle veteran homelessness (NAEH, 2015). Compared to nonveterans, many veterans are considered at risk of homelessness because of poverty, lack of support from family and friends, substance use or mental health issues, precarious living conditions, and have a low socioeconomic status. They are also faced with a shortage of affordable housing options and stagnating wages. As a result of serving in the military, veterans are at a higher risk of experiencing traumatic brain injuries, sexual trauma, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (NAEH, 2015).…
My friends and I left the restaurant, laughing. It was getting dark and the city was beautifully lit. We smiled and chatted as we walked through downtown. Suddenly my eyes fell on a young woman arranging her sleeping quarters in the middle of the sidewalk. She looked barely older than me - she could have easily been a college student. The girl sat down and pulled a few dirty blankets over her body, preparing for the night’s sleep. I was staggered by the similarities between the two of us. Her face stuck in my memory as I got home and climbed into my comfortable bunk bed. People my age weren’t supposed to be homeless, were they? Where was her family, her connections? Why would she be on the streets? Were there more people like her or was she an anomaly? I realized I knew nothing about homelessness and had instead been subconsciously analyzing it with my own preconceptions as a basis. But I wasn’t the only one allowing myself to remain so misinformed. Research shows there are almost ubiquitous misconceptions concerning homelessness and the stigma against it, especially when it comes to the demographics of the homeless population, the amount of crimes…
One of my service users was an elderly lady who was diagnosed with risk of DVT, carers visited in the morning and a evening visit to administer medication, Mary was a lovely lady who always wanted to make you a cup of tea and biscuits, her house was spotless and she took great pride in it, even still cleaning the windows inside herself at 89yrs old, Mary was a devout catholic and visited church twice a week, she had a great sense of humour and we always had a good chat on my visits. Mary visited the hospital quite frequently and district nurses visited on a weekly basis to renew dressings on her legs, due to DVT’s, she had no hearing problems and could read the Bolton news without spectacles, after I had been visiting Mary for about 12 months, I noticed that she was becoming more forgetful and although she could remember everything about her childhood, her short term memory was getting worse.…
Homeless people have the tendency to treat the streets of cities like their personal homes. It’s only natural that they do this because hey, the streets are their homes. But this becomes a problem when you are strolling the streets of your beautiful city and are overwhelmed and distressed by the horrific stench of urine and waste consume the side walk. Like I said before, the sidewalks are homeless people’s homes but when you have to hold your breath, it becomes a problem.…
Millions of Americans experience homelessness every year but are still outnumbered by abandoned, empty, and government owned buildings. Instead of keeping them on the streets, why doesn’t someone place them in those buildings? If they did, America would still have buildings leftover that they can either fix up or move in the homeless from other countries that are in need. America should help the homeless in other countries as well as their own. After they help their own country, they should reach out to others and give supplies that are needed.…
According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, "homeless youth are typically defined as unaccompanied youth between the ages of 12 and 24 who are without family support and who are living in shelters, on the streets, in cars or vacant buildings or who are "couch surfing" or living in other unstable circumstances." On any given night in the US, there is about half a million homeless individuals. 40 percent of that are homeless youth. It is important to say that exact numbers of homeless youth are hard to determine because the lack of standard methods and the mobility of the homeless population. The amount of homeless youth is staggering and heartbreaking. There are many factors that lead to homelessness, and many consequences…
In every community, children find their own recreation and companionship in the streets. Such as joining gangs or being homeless. That’s why we as Americans need to step in and help those children have a better sense of stability and care in their lives. By donating your time and money we can make that happen. For every person who donates their service and money, just imagine how many lives we could change and think about the crime rate going down amongst youths.…
Alaska has many local advocacy issues; but the one that stands out the most is homelessness. When I first moved to Alaska, Anchorage in 2011. What I realized in the first month living here; is the homelessness and drunks everywhere in Anchorage. This homeless issue is getting worse every year. In 2007 there was 1,653 homeless people, and the next year there was 2,199. Each year the population for homeless people are increasing enormously. Anchorage needs to be notified and do something about this issue. What I think is causing this problem is the PFD and people are just lazy. When people found out about receiving the PFD; the population started to increase. Which causes over population then that leads to less jobs for people. What’s making these homeless people stay is that organizations that are helping them with their food and shelter. The organizations that are supporting the homeless should give each homeless person a certain amount of time to having shelter and food. So if the organization did that, homeless people would recognize they can’t keep coming back and need to find a job or figure something out. If not this homelessness issue will just keep increasing each year. The worst thing about homelessness is that it makes the beautiful city of Anchorage look trashy. If they got rid or reduce the amount of homeless people, it would probably be better for business. So in order to help the homeless people organizations like the ACH ( Anchorage Coalition the end Homelessness) established a ten year plan to help reduce the amount of homeless people in Anchorage. ACH mission statement is to “be a network of businesses, non-profits and community members who provide a continuum of support to prevent homelessness and connect the homeless to safe, secure and affordable housing”(Storrs). If this organization succeeds over the next ten years, I’m pretty sure…