Impact of Covid-19 on Homeless
- What are the specific challenges to this population?
The homeless individuals are adversely impacted by the ‘stay at home’ order issued due to COVID 19 since such people already do not have homes to go to. Nobody would want to welcome or associate with such individuals with the fear that they might be carrying the virus in them as everybody is seriously taking precautionary measures (Culhane et al. 2020). The government and non-government organizations that could have helped such individuals have dedicated their time and resources to help in finding a solution to the menace. Leaving such people on the streets with no help makes them vulnerable to the disease, and thus they can spread it to other populations they come in contact with on the streets fast. Homelessness is not an alternative lifestyle with its positives and negatives. Homelessness is only negative. It represents our failure to lead, to build an equitable society, and our malice toward those we see as beneath us.
- How would we as human services professionals have to change our way of supporting these individuals
As human services professionals, we have to adopt new strategies in supporting such individuals since the initiative of donating food will not help them avoid contracting the virus. The shelter will be the only viable solution, be it temporarily or permanent (Culhane et al. 2020). Those people who are homeless because of illness, unemployment, addiction, disability, and other illnesses should be provided with shelter and access to public services to improve their quality of life for as long as they need those services. The practical solution is to offer more flexible housing options and “small house” housing. One proposed option is to have a compound of small strict shed-style buildings that would give a homeless a roof and an address from which to start. This would offer stability from which to grow. In as much as the authorities will not allow this type of housing because it does not meet housing codes, they have to since it will be temporarily to curb the spread of the Covid-19 menace.
- Have we seen change to addressing these issues currently?
Currently, such change has been seen within the United States. The governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, have developed many temporary homes where such homeless individuals can be transferred until the menace is over (Tsai & Wilson, 2020). Additionally, the government has converted various buildings that are not in use in sheltering the homeless temporarily. Currently, there are fewer people on the homeless streets, implying that the measures implemented seem to be working.
- What can we put in place in the future to make sure these individuals are supported in potential future pandemics?
Supporting the homeless in potential future pandemics necessitates changing the policies in place. This would happen through the democratic process of voter initiatives aimed at putting funding toward taking away rights from the mentally ill and giving them back to family members or the people who are more concerned with the life-long well-being of the individual that the individual themselves (Tsai & Wilson, 2020). This is a slow process and requires a lot of community organization and forethought, but it is ultimately effective, with enough people willing. Such policies include ensuring all of them are provided for medical cover, removing any barriers to housing, and create employment for those with skills.
References
Culhane, D., Treglia, D., Steif, K., Kuhn, R., & Byrne, T. (2020). Estimated Emergency and Observational/Quarantine Capacity Need for the US Homeless Population Related to COVID-19 Exposure by County; Projected Hospitalizations, Intensive Care Units, and Mortality.
Tsai, J., & Wilson, M. (2020). COVID-19: a potential public health problem for homeless populations. Lancet Public Health.