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| "I have no place to leave my belongings" |
Homeless; these are the people we view
through our warm, comfortable car windows on our way to work. These are
the people that turn away from the cold wind and seek shade in the heat of the
summer. These are the people who we refuse to make eye contact with when
they tap on our window and ask for the loose change in our cup holders.
While it only takes us five minutes to zip across town to visit our doctor the
homeless person requires several hours to make the same journey. We sip
coffee and listen to the morning news while they lug 30 pounds of personal
belongings as they walk in shoes long worn out by the previous owner. A
study conducted in West Haven, Connecticut of 1832 clients showed that homeless
people provided with either reliable transportation or stable housing accessed
public services at a significantly higher rate than those who remained transient
(Rosenheck, et.al, 1998). Is a public service really a public service if the neediest
are unable to access the service? This is the ethical dilemma and is in
contrast with APA's Ethical Principle regarding Justice.
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| "this is better... my shoes are shot!" |
A truly ethical approach to this situation would be to incorporate a more
holistic approach to providing meaningful services to the homeless.
Within the holistic model a community would design a system that would take the
homeless person from the curb to the service and back again or onto the next
service the person requires. Transportation could be provided by
providing free public transportation vouchers or utilizing volunteer drivers
through non-profit cooperation. A recent article in the American
Journal of Public Health noted that when programs related to homelessness take
a long term approach verses just providing temporary housing that the local
rate of homelessness is reduced. Simply put, when programs approach the
problem with a holistic approach the outcome is far better (Henwood, Cabassa,
Craig & Padgett, 2013).
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| "I have lost all self respect... I'm desperate" |
As we consider the lack of
transportation we can see the ethical challenge it is clear that communities
fail to provide Justice. The requirements of the Justice principle
require that we strive to provide all people fair, equitable and appropriate access
to treatment and benefits. Communities would also be violating the
Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity Principle by failing to recognize how
undignified it is to the homeless as they struggle to find their way to
appointments and life changing services. Remember, these are the people
we stare at as we drive by; these are the people that we turn away when they
tap on our windows. Is this human dignity? Is this ethical?
References
Henwood,
B. F., Cabassa, L. J., Craig, C. M., & Padgett, D. K. (2013). Permanent
Supportive Housing: Addressing Homelessness and Health Disparities?. American
Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), S188-S192. doi:10.
2105/AJPH.2013.301490
Rosenheck,
R., Morrisey, J., Lam, J., Calloway, M., Johnsen, M., Goldman, H., & ...
Teague, G. (1998). Service System Integration, Access to Services, and Housing
Outcomes in a Program for Homeless Persons With Severe Mental Illness. American
Journal Of Public Health, 88(11), 1610-1615.
Hi John, I enjoyed your post and agree with your view on holistic services. Homeless people first need good healthcare and also a social worker that is willing to help them find the services they need to obtain a better quality of life. I know that you spend some of your spare time at Water Street Rescue Mission helping to make a difference. I too am affiliated with helping people in the Women and Children's housing. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people just waiting to prey upon those that already have little to nothing to call their own. If more people were interested in helping this population find housing and transportation there would be mush less of an issue when it comes to the homeless care opportunities. Perhaps we can find more people to spend an hour or two of their time to help find more resources for people that really need them. Maybe a trip to the "big steps" some Wednesday afternoon would get us somewhere. If you yell loud enough, the usually hear you :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic and so important. I ran a domestic violence program for years and it was often the same issue with my clients. No transportation, no childcare, no money. It is hard to leave a violent home if you have no car and nowhere to go. It is so good that you volunteer with this population and are making a difference.
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