How the health care system continues to fail the homeless

Our Health Care System, Currently

While it is constantly improving, our healthcare system is still flawed in many ways. The health care system is mainly designed for those in the middle class and above, with little regard for others. The system often fails to meet, or even consider the needs of the homeless. For those without stable housing, finding and accessing healthcare is very difficult.

Many homeless people have a history of mental illness, dental problems, and many other issues because of their situation, and such issues are often not dealt with properly in the first place. There is also an unmet need for services such as medical or surgical care, medication, glasses, etc. There is either no source of care for the homeless or if there is, it is very difficult for them to find and access.

There are many barriers in our healthcare system, including but not limited to the affordability of the care, the difficulty of accessing and acquiring it, and a lack of transportation to get to the places. Treatment and care can be difficult for some people to access because of a lack of insurance or an inability to contact a healthcare provider. Oftentimes, food insecurity and malnutrition lead to illness, and because hunger is a more immediate need, many prioritize seeking out immediate needs such as that rather than more advanced, long-term healthcare.

In homeless shelters, many feel depression, anxiety, and despair. It takes a long time to receive help. Due to the quality of their situation, homeless people can easily fall into depression, anxiety, and despair which can also affect their willingness and motivation to put in the effort of seeking out healthcare. Wait times for psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are incredibly long, often taking anywhere from 6 months to a year. This frequently leads to the mental state of the people suffering from mental illnesses declining, while waiting for psychological assistance for their issues. Homelessness often occurs in combination with a lack of education, (imagine an inability to read, or properly write due to interrupted education) which makes it hard for the affected persons to properly fill out assistance forms or other legal documentation to improve their situation.

How Can it Be Improved?

The main goal when improving the support system for the homeless would be to make it inclusive and equal to everyone, and more accessible. People should be made to feel safe no matter their situation, with no need for them to feel any mistrust or shame. They should be welcomed kindly and understood. Now, how can we accomplish this?

Services should be free or reduced in cost, and finding care should be made simpler and easier. We must also consider both mental and physical health. Many people only think about the physical effects of living without a home. Such unpleasant situations easily take a psychological toll on their bearers. Unfortunately, wait times for such needs are currently very long, but it will not always have to be that way. Clinics could be stationed and run around the shelters to provide immediate assistance, especially in case of an emergency, or medical professionals (mental and physical) could be organized to visit and attend to the different shelters daily.

Works cited

1. Baggett, Travis P., et al. “The Unmet Health Care Needs of Homeless Adults: A National Study.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 100, no. 7, July 2010, pp. 1326–1333, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/.

2. Lyons, Amanda. “Patients on the Margins.” RACGP, 2015, www.racgp.org.au/publications/goodpractice/201707/homeless-healthcare/.

3. National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Health - National Alliance to End Homelessness.” National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2017, endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/what-causes-homelessness/health/.

4. Purkey, Eva, and Meredith MacKenzie. “Experience of Healthcare among the Homeless and Vulnerably Housed a Qualitative Study: Opportunities for Equity-Oriented Health Care.” International Journal for Equity in Health, vol. 18, no. 1, 1 July 2019, equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/.

Researcher: Jessica Yao (Researcher from Power to the Youth Toronto)

Editor: Kathi Nicoll (Editor from Power to the Youth Toronto)

Date published: June 7th 2022