Homelessness
By
Alexa Pineda
Humber College, Practical Nursing
NURS 104, Health Assessment
Kiran Kehal-Gil
Canada has long had an international reputation for high quality of life. For a growing
number of Canadians, homelessness has become a grim reality and obtaining shelter part of a
daily struggle (Begin et al., 1999). Poverty is exacerbated by stagnant income, unemployment,
and excessive housing and healthcare costs. These factors are the cause of homelessness and that
is why they are subjected to risks of marginalisation and destitution which leads to high
vulnerability. Living on the streets, staying temporarily in insecure housing like hostels, night
shelters, B&Bs, or couch surfing are all examples of not having a stable home. These transitory
lifestyles can be quite detrimental over the course of a lifetime. These factors not only have a
physical but also a mental impact on individuals. They won't be able to take care of themselves
or deal with the difficulties of life.
The absence of a support system from friends and family, as well as safety, security, and
privacy. The lack of support from our system and the denial of their basic rights leads homeless
people to develop a heightened susceptibility to violence, abuse, crime, and exploitation. Due to
the experiences, they are having, the majority of homeless persons also suffer from mental
illnesses. Despite the fact that this vulnerable population's need for mental health services is
becoming more widely recognized. People who are homeless continue to have limited access to
these services. “People experiencing homelessness may struggle to access help and support or
may be reluctant to do so. Engaging with support services and transitioning away from
homelessness can be challenging, and during this time people remain highly vulnerable to
exploitation” (Homelessness,2023). This even lessen the chance of homeless people to be better
and to be able to have a change of life.
Homeless people have been shown to be nutritionally deficient; there was a scarcity in
micronutrient, sugar, excess fat and salt. This is significant because a well-balanced diet is an
element for “physical growth, development, reproduction and general well-being” (Kelly et.
Al ,2023). Only cheaper and more available options are consumed by homeless people, and
these are usually lacking in energy and nutrients. Meals given by charities and kitchens to
homeless people were shown to have excess fat and deficient in vitamins and minerals. Saturated
fat was high which is a precursor for fatty acid deposits in the bloodstream because it is harder to
breakdown compared to unsaturated fats. This means that homeless people are also more prone
to heart disease and obesity.
Homeless people are nutritionally deficient not just because of the quality of their food,
but also the amount of food they eat. A lot of homeless people eat fewer means a day compared
to an average human. There is also a limited resource for them; private and public agencies have
limited availability to homeless people. Studies also show that pregnancy rates are higher in
homeless women and poor pregnancy outcomes usually result. Further research is needed to
identify the reasons, but poor nutrition is one of the most probable cause. A priority to be
considered is to utilize a health promotion-based approach where research about the nutritional
quality of food given to homeless people should be done with the cooperation of health
practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders. In addition to this, relationship between nutritional
status and homelessness should be studied further. This means that specific characteristics and
factors leading to homelessness should be identified in order to prevent the onset effects of
homelessness. For most individuals, homelessness represents a transient one‐time crisis or an
episodic problem; for a distinctly different subgroup of individuals, homelessness is a chronic
condition (Kuhn & Culhane, 1998).
Homelessness affects single men and women, street youth, families with children, people
of all races and ethnicities, lifelong Canadians, immigrants and refugees, and these groups often
face different health issues (Hwang, 2001). Homeless people are also subjected to physical and
verbal assaults, affecting both their mental and physical health. In Toronto, 40% of homeless
people were assaulted and another 21% of homeless people were raped. Mortality rates are also
significantly higher when it comes to homeless people compared to the majority. A part of this
stems from the prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse, co-occurring among them. As
drugs and alcohol abuse continue over time, organ damage takes place. Injection used for drugs
are also not usually sterile, so skin infection that can go to the bloodstream and affect organs is
also a common occurrence. In addition to this, shelters tend to be crowded where isolation and
ventilation is not so good. As a result, the already immunodeficient individuals with contracted
diseases can spread this to other healthy homeless people in the shelter. • Further exacerbating
this dilemma, homeless people have impaired access to opportunities such as keeping up with
their appointments due to lack of phone or permanent address. This prevents them from getting a
valid health card to see a doctor.
Ending homelessness, funds must be allocated to preventing new cases of homelessness.
It is necessary to stop discriminating against homeless individuals. To end marginalization,
people need to be better informed about homelessness. Instead of dealing with the issue through
emergency services like soup kitchens and shelters, it makes more sense to get involved before
someone loses their housing or, if that person already experiences homelessness, to find them a
stable place to live as soon as possible. This can reduce homelessness and keep a lot of
individuals away from drug abuse and mental illness. To address homelessness, it will be
necessary for a number of sectors, including the housing, health, justice, and educational
systems, to collaborate with one another.
References:
Begin, P., Casavant, L., Chenier, N. M., & Dupuis, J. (1999). Homelessness. Ottawa:
Parliamentary Research Branch.
Homelessness. Preventing Exploitation Toolkit. (n.d.).
[Link]
vulnerability/homelessness/
Hwang, S. W. (2001). Homelessness and health. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 164(2),
229‐33.
Kuhn, R., & Culhane, D. P. (1998). Applying cluster analysis to test a typology of homelessness
by pattern of shelter utilization: Results from the analysis of administrative data. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 26(2), 207‐ 232
Ravikumar-Grant, D., Kelly, C., & Gabhainn, S. N. (2023, July 10). The determinants of the
nutritional quality of food provided to the homeless population: A mixed methods
systematic review protocol - systematic reviews. BioMed Central.
[Link]
