The Definition of Homelessness - Essay Example

Section/# Trauma and Homelessness: A Core Secondary Issue of Homelessness The definition of homelessness is one of the simplest and most profound that is likely to exist. According to a litany of different sources, homelessness can basically be understood with regards to the condition of having no stable/dependable residence (Dawson & Jackson, 2013). Oftentimes, as a direct correlation to this level of understanding, the condition of homelessness invariably did notes and commentates the condition of living on the streets were being exposed the elements. As a means of understanding homelessness to a more full and complete extent, the analyst invariably comes to the realization that this social reality has a direct impact upon the level of health and overall longevity of the individuals that are forced to integrate with it. One of the core realities of homelessness within the current dynamic is necessarily with regards to the ever-increasing population and reduced levels of housing that are available around the globe. Due to the economic downturn, developers and governmental housing projects have necessarily all but ground to a standstill. What this has created is a situation in which an ever-increasing demand for housing is not being met due to the fact that individuals within the current economy neither have the means more the wherewithal to seek out and purchase, or indeed continue to pay mortgages, on homes and properties that they would otherwise use for themselves and for their families (Cusack et al., 2013). Although homelessness has traditionally been understood as a problem affecting only the very lowest class within a society, the events of the past several years have highlighted and underscored the fact that homelessness can affect each and every individual within the system to a profound degree. From a societal interpretation of this particular drawback, it is the onus of governmental and state entities to ensure that the supply and demand for housing are being met in an equitable manner. Though increased levels of government control with regards to the real estate industry is not something that many individuals within society would necessarily want to take place, the reality of the fact is that the current dynamic of economics take nation necessarily demands action on the part of these local, state and federal entities to ensure that the hemorrhaging problems associated with homelessness are ameliorated in the best means possible. The reality of the fact is that homeless groups are necessarily hard-to-reach and underrepresented within healthcare research and availability. Whereas the reader can doubtless consider a litany of studies that it been performed on individual suffering from bronchitis, lung cancer, AIDS, or a variety of other diseases that are represented within a extent to society, a level of focus upon the homeless as a unique group unto themselves (exhibiting a level of diseases that are not representative of the remainder of the population) is hardly ever attempted. In such a way, the reader can come to a full appreciation for the lack of integration an understanding that current healthcare scholarship and societal appreciation for the impacts of homelessness directly correlates to the means by which the exhibition of homelessness and the health issues associated with it can hope to be corrected. This of course represents the fundamental drawback and unit of analysis that this particular essay will seek to reference with regards to raising this issue to a higher level of visibility and seeking to correct many of the societal ills and health problems most directly related to homelessness. Although the analyst may be quick to point to the fact that homeless individuals only make up a small fraction of the general population, there are two salient rebuttals to this approach that must be discussed. The first rebuttal is with regards to the fact that the growing numbers of homeless, as a result of the economic meltdown, have been able to impacts disproportionately upon the means by which the system is able to speak to the needs of all societal shareholder. The second salient rebuttal of course regards the fact that recent scholarship into the subject has noted that the homeless account for a disproportionately large number of health related issues within society; as compared to their overall population level. This should come as no surprise to the analyst due to the fact that the homeless do not have the same access to proper environmental conditions, Healthcare Services, medication, proper nutrition, money, or shelter. Each of these determinants necessarily means that the homeless population will continue to represent a disproportionate level of healthcare services within the environment. Therefore, from both a moral/ethical standpoint, as well as in monetary standpoint, it is within society’s best interest to seek to understand and ameliorate the issue of homelessness to a greater degree. In so doing, a dual benefit to society will necessarily be engendered. Whereas the preceding analysis has placed a high level of focus upon the means by which the environment impacts upon the individual, it must also be understood that the perspective of the homeless is generally oriented in a different means than is the perspective of those individuals who are not. Although this may seem quite obvious, the importance of such an understanding is with regards to the means by which the homeless necessarily reorients their priorities in place a low emphasis upon health and well-being. As a means of survival, careful attention to nutrition, diet and exercise, regular checkups, and monitoring of any potential problems takes a backseat to the daily need for survival. Within such a construct, it is readily understood that the individual who is homeless will place in much increased emphasis upon providing for themselves and a far decreased level of emphasis upon seeking to administer to their individual healthcare needs. This serves as something of a perfect storm with relation to the means by which the healthcare systems around the world can administer to the unique problems that this group has. Although it is likely and oftentimes exhibited at the homeless makeup a very large and disproportionate percentage of the individuals admitted into emergency care, they make up unbelievably and disproportionately small number of individuals that seek to tend to any preventative care measures that might be offered. Within such an understanding, it is easy for the reader to see why the healthcare system as such is placed under and unbelievably high level of stress due to the facts that it is much more difficult to alleviate healthcare problems once they have reached a stage in which they must necessarily be treated; as compared to the ability of healthcare professionals to seek to administer to the needs of an individual who is come in to their office in the hopes of staving off or reducing the evidence of a potential for currently existing problem. Further, the research has noted that a full range of medical conditions plague the homeless population of the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. Many of these conditions are as a direct result of the exposure and lack of shelter that these individuals must integrate with on a daily basis; however, some of them are born out of the psychological effects and temptations that the homeless condition necessarily brings (Burgess et al., 2013). Accordingly, some of the literature that was read as a means of informing this particular piece pointed to the increased incidence of foot problems, tuberculosis, upper respiratory tract infections, hypothermia, substance abuse, mental health, infestations, and a litany of other chronic diseases among individuals who can be considered homeless (Weber et al. ,2013). This is especially important not from merely a social justice frame of view but also with regards to the overall cost that such a reality presents the system. In conclusion, as a result of the information that has been reviewed with relation to homelessness, the reader can and should come away with several strong understandings. The first of these is the fact that homelessness disproportionately affects the most at risk individuals within society. Secondly, homelessness disproportionately affects the families with young children as a result of the increased financial strain that having children places upon the already at risk family. Thirdly, as a result of this homelessness, the level and extent to which key medical conditions are exhibited within this large and seemingly ever growing population is vast. Finally, from the research that has been performed and the information that has been gleaned, it is the understanding of this student that the situation of homelessness, more than just being a societal ill that is unseemly, represents a festering problem which not only serves to make miserable the lives of the individuals that have to live within such a reality but also places an impossible difficult financial strain on the medical establishment. References Burgess, A., Regehr, C. & Roberts, A. (2013). Victimology : theories and applications. Boston, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Cusack, L., van Loon, A., Kralik, D., Arbon, P., & Gilbert, S. (2013). Extreme weather-related health needs of people who are homeless. Australian Journal Of Primary Health, 19(3), 250-255. doi:10.1071/PY12048 Dawson, A., & Jackson, D. (2013). The primary health care service experiences and needs of the homeless: A narrative synthesis of current evidence. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 44(1), 62-75. doi:10.5172/conu.2013.44.1.62 Weber, M., Thompson, L., Schmiege, S. J., Peifer, K., & Farrell, E. (2013). Perception of Access to Health Care by Homeless Individuals Seeking Services at Day Shelters. Archives Of Psychiatric Nursing, 27(4), 179-184. doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2013.05.001 Read More