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Introduction
For the purposes of this research paper, the homeless population living in Camden and Atlantic City in New Jersey have been studied. The specific age group of homeless people that has been selected are those individuals with ages between 18 and 21 years. The paper will explore the various health problems that homeless people of this age group are most likely to suffer from. A review of the available literature has been conducted in order to determine which prevention initiatives have so far proven to be most effective in addressing and resolving the identified health problems.
Factors Contributing to Health Problems among Homeless
The US Department of Health and Human Services define homeless individuals as “a person under 18 years old who absents himself or herself from home or place of legal residence, at least overnight, without the permission of parents or legal guardians”. The at risk population that has been identified for this research paper comprises 18 to 21 year old individuals who are homeless and the health problems that they experience.
According to Robertson, in the article Homeless Youth: Research, Intervention and Policy, identified that homeless youth of this age group are more likely than normal individuals of the same age to be suffering from mental health problems and emotional disorders. The paper reports that the proportion of the homeless youth who are afflicted with mental health disorders in New Jersey has increased substantially in the last decade. The most common reasons, according to Robertson, include a history of family violence, drug addiction of parents as well as homeless individuals’ personal use of drugs and alcohol (Robertson, 2014).
According to Shane in the article, A Sample of Homeless and Runaway Youth in New Jersey and their Health Status, almost 48 percent of the homeless youth in Camden and Atlantic City are suffering from substance use and abuse. The research paper cites a startling statistic that approximately 85 percent of high school students in these two communities have easy access to the most dangerous drugs. Shane also mentions that almost 31 percent of youth, aged between 18 and 21, have used Marijuana and Morphine within the last one year (Shane P. , 2011).
The research paper highlights the fact that homeless youth who have spent a significant portion of their lives on the streets of New Jersey are twice as likely to become drug addicts or alcoholics by the time they reach 18 years of age. Secondly, those homeless children and adolescence whose parents were also regular drug users or had alcohol problems were more likely to become drug users themselves. A less discussed reason of increased drug and alcohol usage among the homeless has been presented in detail by Shane.
Almost 40 percent of the homeless youth sampled in this research paper by Shane, mentioned that it was the addictions of their parents and their violent behavior that prompted them to leave home in the first place.
In the article, The Challenge of Pregnancy amongst Homeless Youth: Reclaiming a lost Opportunity, author Smid points out that homeless young women are four times as likely to become pregnant during their teen years. Not only that, but Smid also discusses the fact that a significant proportion of these teenage and youth pregnancies are voluntarily terminated by these homeless women. A rarely cited underlying cause of this health problem has been elaborated in great detail by Smid in this research article. What welfare workers and psychologists often ignore is the emotional and psychological trauma that these homeless young women go through that causes pregnancies in the first place, as well as how terminating it affects them on a personal level (Smid, 2012).
In the book: What about America’s Homeless Children? Hide and Seek, author Paul G. Shane explains that homeless children and adolescence are more likely to be victims of physical, sexual and mental abuse when compared to teenagers and youth living with their families in the safety of their own homes. The article mentions that in New Jersey alone, more than 70 percent of the homeless youth who were surveyed, reported that they had been repeatedly abused, often by their own parents, relatives, or criminals who often targeted the homeless population (Shane P. G., 2006).
Prevention Efforts
In the article, Homeless Youth: Research, Intervention and Policy, Robertson suggests that providing the required psychological care to the homeless youth of ages between 18 and 21, will go a long way in providing at least immediate and basic treatment to those suffering from mental disorders. The ideal place to provide this psychological care are homeless shelters. This is because a significant proportion of this age group has reported that they often end up spending a few days at these shelters before moving on. It is Robertson’s opinion that providing psychological counselling using the shelters as a temporary base of operations, is an important first step. However, a more long term approach is needed to completely treat these homeless youth (Robertson, 2014).
According to Shane, in the article A Sample of Homeless and Runaway Youth in New Jersey and their Health Status, there is an urgent need to provide substance abuse treatments for homeless youth while they are on the streets. This is because in Shane’s opinion, a very small proportion of homeless drug addicts admit themselves into homeless shelters or rehabilitation centers to be cured (Shane P. , 2011).
According to Smid, in the article The Challenge of Pregnancy amongst Homeless Youth: Reclaiming a lost Opportunity, when it comes to the health problem of adolescent and early youth pregnancies, Smid, in the article proposed that targeted awareness sessions are conducted with such women. This is because Smid believes that the duration of the pregnancy is the ideal time to encourage these homeless young women to bring about changes in their lifestyle and get the required medical care for themselves and their unborn babies. Also, birth control awareness is considered an important prevention and intervention strategy (Smid, 2012).
The article also suggests that when homeless women with ages between 18 and 21 years are educated about the negative long term consequences of their actions, they are more likely to continue their treatment in the long term.
In his book What about America’s Homeless Children? Hide and Seek, author Shane identifies the role of welfare health workers doing their rounds on the streets to be the most important intervention strategy to help victims of physical, sexual and mental abuse, who are also homeless. As mentioned earlier, victims of such abuse, particularly when they are young and homeless, are in immediate need of both psychological treatments as well as physical medical care for their injuries. Shane is of the opinion that health workers are in a unique position to screen out potential victims, earn their trust and eventually convince them to sign up for free counselling sessions and treatment services (Shane P. G., 2006).
When comparing the four strategies mentioned above, in order to help reduce the various health problems experienced by homeless youth, I believe awareness building is the most effective strategy. The literature available on the subject also supports this view. All the four authors and both research articles cited in this paper have mentioned targeted awareness sessions for various health problems to have the highest effectiveness of all intervention strategies.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence mentioned in each of the four articles mentioned earlier, the homeless population in New Jersey aged between 18 and 21 years is exposed to a very high risk of developing several health problems. These include substance abuse, the trauma of being a victim of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, unplanned pregnancies during youth and mental disorders.
I believe that the issue of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies amongst the homeless young women in New Jersey is the most acute problem that needs to be addressed immediately. This is because whether its pregnancies are carried to term or terminated, this is the point from which homelessness is most likely to start. If the women on the streets of New Jersey are provided with the correct medical information as well as the long term consequences of their risky behavior, there is a great chance to convince them to seek out permanent support and help. Once these women come to a homeless shelter, their other health problems can also be at rest and treated.
I also think that pregnant women are more physically and emotionally fragile and therefore this is the ideal window of opportunity to get them off the streets. Highlighting the fact that they have control over another innocent life might prove to be useful and an effective strategy to mentally influence these young women. A review of the existing literature also substantiates my opinion. Once these welfare workers succeed in convincing in bringing these women to a well-equipped medical shelter, they can later also be persuaded to get long term treatment for other health problems that they may be suffering from. These problems include psychological disorders, drug abuse problems as well as trauma of experiencing sexual and physical abuse at an early age (Smid, 2012).
References
Robertson, M. J. (2014). Homeless Youth: Research, Intervention, and Policy. Journal of Socio Economic Health Problems, 100-110.
Shane, P. (2011). A Sample of Homeless and Runaway Youth in New Jersey and their Health Status. journal of health policy, 73-82.
Shane, P. G. (2006). What About America's Homeless Children? Hide and Seek . New York: Sage Source Books for the Human Services.
Smid, M. (2012). The Challenge of Pregnancy among Homeless Youth: Reclaiming a lost opportunity. Journal of Healthcare , 140-156.
