COUNSELORS MEETING THE HOMELESS WHERE THEY ARE

Counselors meeting the homeless where they are

Counselors meeting the homeless where they are

Introduction

Intervention to prevent homelessness takes place when those exhibiting risk factors for homelessness are identified and interventions are delivered to ameliorate risk and thus reduce the likelihood of homelessness. The adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is supported by research across multiple disciplines. Therefore, from both a cost and ethical perspective, it is not only important to help people who are homeless achieve and maintain stability in their lives, but it is even more important to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. In order to provide prevention services, knowing the risk factors for homelessness is critical. There is a growing body of research evidence identifying causes of homelessness and ways to prevent its occurrence. According to a 2005 survey conducted by The United States Conference of Mayors-Sodexho, Inc., the top five causes of homelessness are: 1) lack of affordable housing; 2) low paying jobs; 3) mental health problems and lack of needed services; 4) substance abuse problems and lack of needed services; and 5) domestic violence and lack of needed services. Additionally, in the report “Strategies for Preventing Homelessness,” the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy and Research, outlined the following major risk factors for becoming homeless:

The presence of mental health and/or substance use issues;

Chronic health problems;

History of incarceration;

Domestic violence;

Housing issues;

Marital problems;

Adverse childhood experiences including physical and sexual abuse.

Discussion

The United Nations implemented a universal declaration of human rights. Article 25 Section 1 of this declaration states:“ Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and to the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”If a homeless person registers with an unemployment agency. Since there is no way for them to call him/her when a job comes up the unemployment agency calls them - three, four times a day. If they confess there is no way to reach them, they lose interest(Rosenthal 1994).

Karl Marx said that work is a fundamental condition of human existence. Discrimination may stem from things that caused the homelessness in the first place, or things that were made worse by the pressures of being homeless. These factors may include mental illness, substance dependency or being in trouble with the police. If the homeless person is young, a woman, Indigenous, or has a disability, they are particularly vulnerable to discrimination.

Crime happens between two homeless people fighting or taking items, a non-homeless person committing a crime against a homeless person because they are seen as defenceless. There was a case 2 years ago where a group of young people set fire to a homeless person. The offenders said they did it for ...