I’m not sure about everyone else,
but for me this week has been very busy! It’s great to be fully immersed both
at my site and in the larger Summer Service experience. At the same time,
though, it’s crazy to think that we’re already almost half-way done serving at
our sites for the summer. The first half has flown by for me, and I know that
the second half will as well.
Probably my biggest project this
week was working on re-doing the intake and assessment forms for families
experiencing homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County. MIFA runs the central intake
site for all of these families, so I got to work closely this week with a few
people from there. Right now, when families come in and say that they are
homeless, there are three packets of forms that they must fill out. My project
was to condense these into one packet, while still gathering all of the
required information. It was a lot more difficult and time-consuming than I thought it would be initially,
but it was cool to know that so many families in need will utilize this new
packet. Hopefully it will make it easier for them to access the services
that they need. I’m sure that I will need to do more work on it, but I was very
happy to complete a draft to send over by the end of the week.
I have been thinking a lot recently
about our discussions about health this past week, because it relates to my
service site so directly. One of the most important goals of our organization
is to get people housed quickly, so that they can get the medical help that
they need. Many people who are homeless for long periods of time have mental
illnesses and substance abuse issues (oftentimes directly related, in an
attempt to “escape” from mental illness). Additionally, many people who are homeless may
go to the emergency room to be treated from an issue, only to be temporarily
treated and then soon released back onto the streets, where they cannot heal
properly. Because they cannot fully heal this way, many people who are homeless
must return to the emergency room many times in a year, costing hospitals a
lot of money.
While these are clear health
problems, it is very difficult for them to be managed or treated while a person
is homeless. Because of this, our organization follows the “Housing First” philosophy, which
means that sobriety or cooperation with treatment programs cannot be requirements
for a person to receive housing. Instead, we work to quickly get the most
vulnerable people housed, and then get them the help that they need. Many
studies have found that housing people in this way reduces the costs of
homelessness by large amounts. I’m glad that I have learned so much about these
things already at my service site. I’m excited to learn even more!
You are right Grant, our time of service has flown by! I think it's fantastic that you compiled a document that folks will use every day. Does the Community Alliance work with other organizations similar to MIFA? I also enjoyed reading your comments about the connection between healthcare and housing. It seems like many people experiencing homelessness are stuck in a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle - inadequate/temporary medical care, addiction, lack of security, malnutrition, stigma etc. Ensuring that people receive housing first breaks the chain. I am interested to hear how your service work connects with your position with The Bridge - it seems like you are learning a lot about the behind-the-scenes work of a non-profit that seeks to help many of the Bridge vendors. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGrant that is interesting to hear the plans your site has on trying to reduce the number of people who are homeless and how you have been able to have a direct role in helping your organization focus on the “Housing First” philosophy. I know it must have been frustrating at times trying to condense the 3 different packets into one, but it will definitely make a difference for the people who have to fill out those forms, making it cumbersome and difficult. It is interesting to see how your site is focusing on providing homeless people with housing first as a way to break the cycle that many homeless people feel like they are stuck in. It is great to hear what you’ve been doing so far Grant with the Community Alliance for the Homeless, keep it up!
Grant, I think you're absolutely right about health disparities among people experiencing homelessness, particularly mental health. People struggling with mental health are so stigmatized to begin with - when you combine mental health with homeless populations, another highly stigmatized and forgotten group of people - it basically assures that those demographics remain underserved. I'm really glad that you mentioned the connection between these two populations. At the MGLCC yesterday, there was an older man who came in and started talking to me about how depressed he was and how he wish he could see a counselor. His being homeless and his lack of income has prevented him from seeking help. For homeless folks, mental health is more important than ever, and I look forward to learning more about homeless service agencies that successfully deal with mental health disparities.
ReplyDeleteGrant,
ReplyDeleteYour task of condensing three intake assessment packets into one sounds really meaningful! It’s one of those things that can sometimes feel like you’re just compiling paper, but in reality, it will make all the difference to many members of the Memphis homeless community who are in need of services. Their intake experience will be much simpler and more efficient due to your hard work! Your thoughts and observations on healthcare and homelessness are also very interesting. Some articles for The Bridge have been written on that topic before as well, and the Housing First consensus is something that a lot of people support. While sheltered individuals are released from a hospital, they have an environment to return to that is conducive to recovery. However, as you pointed out, this is not the case with the homeless population as the illness is likely to return without the proper day-to-day care. Do you think this philosophy should also apply to homeless shelters that require sobriety before entering? Or do you think that “Housing First” works better in reference to permanent homes?