Homelessness and poverty affect the health status of individuals, families, and communities in many ways. In addition, societal and cultural values influence the way our communities address the needs of the poor. Our culture believes that people should work, save money, plan for the future, and take care of themselves. In 2008, a downward shift in the economy began to quickly impact how people were able to take care of themselves and their families as well as alter how the community viewed poverty. As the job market weakened, companies laid off workers, plants closed, and businesses were downsized. As a result, many people were left homeless. Homelessness was no longer limited to a few unfortunate people, but rather began impacting all ages, a broad range of socioeconomic cohorts, and certain populations, such as returning veterans (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 737). How a community addresses the homeless issue can impact the health of the community as well as the individual. The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (PL100-77) defines homelessness as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. Homeless people are often hard to find. They include those temporarily living with family and friends, on the streets, in shelters, etc. Some may have previously had homes and survived on limited incomes (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, pp. 274-279). Individual perceptions of poverty and poor are rooted in social, political, cultural, and environmental factors. Personal beliefs, social values, personal experience, cultural attitudes, media, and historical factors influence how we understand and perceive poverty (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 727). Effects of Homelessness on Health Paper Read Chapter 33 in your Stanhope and Lancaster textbook. Review Healthy People 2020 from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services at (http://www.healthypeople.gov). Write a one to two page paper that responds to the effects of homelessness on the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. To achieve maximum points for content and analysis, the following elements need to be thoroughly addressed: Introduce the concept of homelessness; including the spiritual context of the concepts of poverty and homelessness. Discuss several factors that lead to homelessness (other than poverty). Analyze how the above contributing factors impact the health and well-being of the individual, family, and/or community. Describe the use of the nursing process to assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate interventions to restore or promote health. Reflect on how Christian or spiritual concepts related to homelessness impact the services and/or resources provided within the community. Write two to three sentences on what you learned (what was new, what was challenging about the information, and what information you think was most useful). Provide at least two citations/references (using proper APA format from the literature. Use the Paper Writing rubric provided in the syllabus to ensure you have met all the criteria.
