HOMELESS AND HIV/AIDS

A Homeless Living with HIV/AIDS

A Homeless Living with HIV/AIDS

Introduction

In accordance with the convergent sources, approximately 600,000 families in United States of America become homeless every year. Over 1.5 million people utilized transitional housing or emergency housing program for the period of first twelve months. However, in urban centers of the US, it has been documented that since 2007 ratio of homelessness is increasing 12 per cent on average (HUD, 2009; SAMHSA, 2005). There are number of factors which leave a person homeless, which include but not limited to developmental or mental disabilities, financial position, alcohol consumption, low education, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse (NASW, 2009).

Number of domiciled families and individual are facing the threat of becoming homeless, if individual or any of their family members is diagnosed positive with HIV/AIDS infection. This deprive individual and families with resources to fulfill their basic needs of life like clothing, food, shelter; whereas, the additional burden of housing increase the sufferings of people living with HIV/AIDS, particularly in relation to access to health care, maintenance of health and adherence to medicines regimens. National Coalition for the Homeless (2007) in this report revealed that homeless people are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS viruses than people living in their houses. Whereas, there is also a subtype in such homeless people living with HIV/AIDS who are carrying number of other diseases as well (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2007).

Furthermore, the culturally and socially based discrimination and stigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS is aggravated by number of other associated factors including mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness. This paper in relation to above problem, will attempt to perform critical examination of the problems faced by homeless people living with HIV/AIDS.

Literature Review Summary

HIV/AIDS is a disease that is associated with the immune system of human body, which normally occurs due to the presence of human immunodeficiency virus. Among the early symptoms of this infection, affected person may face a short phase of influenza like illness but as the infection increases it increase the illness as well. The immune system of human body is affected in such a manner that tumors and opportunistic infections are grown up constantly (Allers, Hutter, Hofmann, Loddenkemper, Rieger, Thiel and Schneider, 2010). The virus of HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through various sources such as hypodermic needles, unprotected sexual intercourse, child breastfeeding or delivery, from mother to child during the pregnancy and through transfusions of contaminated blood. There is no cure defined for this virus till now, however in order to prevent the growth of this diseases in general population, medical practitioners and care providers have made some recommendations among which needle exchange programs and safe sex are the most common methods for containing the growing rate of HIV/AIDS (Kawachi, Daniels and Robinson, 2005).

Impact of the Problem to the Society

HIV/AIDS is considered as a stigma in most of the societies. United States of America is having an increased number of minorities who are suffering from ...