Research paper on homelessness

There are numerous means in which an individual can be homeless. For instance, a person can be homeless because they do not have the finances to either buy or rent a place to stay. Some individuals are homeless because they are mentally unstable. Other are homeless because they do not have any relatives and remain unemployed and some are just used to being homeless that they do not see it as problem and are also lazy and refuse to work no matter the opportunities that they are exposed to. In the political arena, there have been reductions in funding by the government. There have also been reductions on the safety nets which made the poor people susceptible to homelessness (O’Conell, 2005). People who suffer from drug abuse problems, and other mental issues are at increased chances of being homeless. The review was conducted on the main causes of homelessness, and the findings were as follows:

• Unemployment homeless people were 81%

• 38% cited poor health for being homeless
• 33% cited mental illnesses
• 27% were alcoholics
• 31% cited lack of a good relationship with their family members as the reason for homelessness.
Homelessness is clearly linked to high poverty levels. If the phenomenon of poverty is dealt with then, the issue of homelessness will never be done away with. The issue that is causing the poverty levels must be dealt with for homelessness to be reduced completely. One issue causing poverty is the lack of jobs (Scheffler, 2005). People who lack jobs cannot take care of themselves or their families. Therefore, they end up being homeless for lack of a placed to stay. They live on the streets and depend on the donations of well-wishers so that they can survive and earn on their daily lives.
Most mentally ill people at one point or another abused drugs. Drug addicts have a higher chance of being mentally unwell than the rest of the population. Therefore, if the issue of drugs is dealt with, then it means that the number of the mentally ill people will also be reduced. For instance, if the people who take drugs are counseled and rehabilitated before it gets to the point where they hardly control themselves. Most of the drug addicts also start their behavior in schools where there are a lot of influences in regards to drugs. Therefore, schools should be heavily controlled to reduce the incidences of drug abuse.
Furthermore, they have to ensure that the schools are drug-free zones for them to be safe for everyone. If they can reduce the incidences of drug abuse, then the number of the mentally ill will be reduced drastically (O’Conell, 2005). The people who get mental illness due to their genetic makeup or other factors beyond their control should be taken care of. They should be provided with drugs that would help with their illnesses and also they could teach other people to take care of them. The social workers should be able to visit their homes regularly to ensure that they are not being abused and that they are well taken care of and do not lack for anything.
They are special people who require special treatment and care and thus should be accorded thus. The severely mentally ill could be placed in care homes where there are qualified people to take care of them (Montout, 2002). The severely mentally ill can be dangerous even to them and sometimes may need to be locked up so that they are not a danger to themselves. They are also treated with compassion and care since they are still human beings with feelings and inner emotions. They may not show their inner feelings on the way that the rest of the people may do, but that does not mean that they do not understand pain and disappointment.
The fact that they are severely mentally impaired means that they will be relying on other people so as to take care of them for most of their lives. Therefore, people in the town are compassionate towards them, and this then means that they are well taken care of. If they need to be fed, then they are fed if they need to be bathes then they are given a bath (Hibbs, 2004). In the cases of critically mentally ill people, care has to be exercised fully for them not to be a menace to themselves or to the people near them. Medicines are important as well to ensure that they have reduced the severity of the diseases.
A tactic that is used by most of the churches includes prayers. Most Christians believe in the power of prayers and believe that prayers can treat the mentally ill. They can also help them by counseling them. It, however, may not work in some cases where the patient is not conscious of their surrounding or simply cannot understand what they want to do (Bethesda, 2006). In cases such as depression, counseling and re-affirmation can work in making a person feel important and appreciated. The church can also help in taking care of the mentally ill people, especially those who have no relatives and family to take care of them.

References

Bethesda MD. (2006). National Organizations Concerned with Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness,. National Resource and Training Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, 89-98.
Hibbs JR, B. L. (2004). Mortality in a cohort of homeless adults in Philadelphia. . New England Journal of Medicine., 304-309.
Montout, C. C. (2002). Neuroleptics and mortality in schizophrenia: prospective analysis of deaths in a French cohort of schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenia Research, , 147-156.
O’Conell, J. (2005). Premature Mortality in Homeless Populations: A review of the Literature. . Nashville, National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
Scheffler, R. A. (2005). Millonaires and Mental Health: Proposition 63 in California. Health Affairs, New York University, , 76-89.