Homeless population

[Tushar Mishra]

To me homelessness means, not having a safe place when one wakes up in the morning, not having one’s own personal physical space to organize and maintain resources that are needed to sustain a healthy life for herself/himself and her/his family, and not having a place where a person can gain comfort after a whole day out in the world.

Using the biopsychosocial model, three aspects of a homeless person’s life need to be addressed in order to make sure they lead a healthier life. BIO – As a physician, I can provide the person the appropriate possible treatment in order to alleviate any current physical suffering and provide advice regarding the steps that can be taken to prevent any future damage to one’s body. PSYCHO – I can screen for and look for the common mental health issues that might be contributing the person’s ill health or social situation, and provided him appropriate resources to help them manage these mental comorbidities. SOCIAL- I can be mindful that besides the physical and mental health, the social climate around the person can be equally contributing to the person’s inability to secure a safe haven for themselves and their family, and possibly provide resources available through our clinic or outside clinic to help them, get out of their current situation and lead a better life.

First step in better collaboration with agencies would be to increase the awareness and set up the relative priority of the issue. Subsequently, various agencies could be contacted, who are involved in helping homeless people, and we can act as a bridge of connection between these agencies and the people who are in need. We can identify the specific homeless demographic which are helped by each agency, increase awareness among our program that there are these agencies who will be able to help our homeless patients, and have the information readily available to the physicians so they can contact these agencies in a time-efficient fashion.

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