Housing Project for Elderly and Homeless - Research Proposal Example

Housing Project for Elderly and Homeless Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date: Abstract This paper will try to highlight some of the critical impacts that lack of housing or poor quality housing can have on elderly or homeless individual health and well-being, likelihood of criminality and educational attainment on the affected individual’s. Although this paper focuses on the homeless and elderly, it also discusses the failure to ensure accessibility of shelter to elderly and homeless that is in the community. This paper comes at a time when political parties in Britain are actively considering cuts in public expenditure- subsequent to the next elections- toward addressing housing shortage. This paper will contend that, social mix within the country often reduce poor and disadvantaged individuals in accessing regular housing, so the paper will seeks to understand these issues from the perspective of elderly and homeless individuals wellbeing in particular. It is important for the government and society in general to understand the true costs of lack of housing or poor housing, and the wider social implications of the government lack of housing policy towards the elderly and homeless people. Introduction This paper is designed to examine some of the principle findings from the larger body of research that has been undertaken on social policy implications of the problems such as housing and specific groups within the general population, the homeless- based on gender, race and socio-economic status, have in accessing housing which are affordable and in good quality. This paper also will try to focus on the number of elderly and homeless in Britain who are un-housed; the elderly and homeless require housing, some of these marginalized individual in the society require support services such as physical or mental healthcare, they also require money that will enable them to live on- jobs, job training, or social assistance. What is the meaning of homelessness in Britain? Who is an elderly and homeless individual, why and for how long? What should the society do about these marginalizes individuals? How do homelessness in Britain can be eliminated? Relation to previous research The definition of the elderly and homeless in Britain is measured according to how well the situation is described. When we are dealing with localized situations, an understanding has to be forged into the local context. There are various trends within the contemporary Britain context that influence the local elderly and homelessness situation among the people. These words are understood by the general population as marginalized people who lack stable habitable places as well as lack of cognitive homes. Theories of homelessness among the marginalized people is not fully developed, their existence come from a range of categories such as demographic factors, socio-cultural factors and government policies and legislations towards housing; these factors tend to overlap and reinforce each other in one way or another. It can be fairly stated, that currently, the number of elderly and individual sleeping rough is on the increase, and the elderly or homeless individuals experiencing such conditions, often find their way to shelters or emergency accommodation provided by the government, albeit in dire conditions, by acquaintances. There are certain groups of people who are more vulnerable to experience homelessness, because their situation in the country is difficult for them to access emergency shelter. Some of people in these groups are active drug or alcohol users and illegal immigrants, since shelters in Britain are required to report to the government authorities the status of such people in the country. In some areas, it has been found those individual with mental ill-health are less able to cope with homelessness, will drift into poorer areas and housing conditions. There is an overwhelming positive social impact of better housing to the elderly and homeless individuals, improvement in quality, size and number of houses for the homeless, not forgetting improving the neighborhoods where lower income houses are located in Britain; will have a positive effect crime, health and improving educational attainment. However, the government has already set out policies interventions by different departments in government; the departments to work together to impact on the elderly and poorest neighborhoods. Methodology The method used in this study was developed based on input from various quarters such as government agency, shelter homes and the ministry of housing. The study was built on a previous survey of elderly and homeless individuals who were living in emergency centres and in streets or under the bridges. This study was retrospective in design, a range of methods were employed in getting the relevant information/data that could be used in this research; assessment was as follows: -Review of published research housing in Britain -Review of other relevant published housing impact assessments in the country -Review of published data/information from the Ministry of Housing -Structured interviews; The interview protocol that was used in this study asked the interviewers about their housing histories, their income histories, job histories, social networking, living conditions, affordability tenure type, security of tenure, location, health status, demographic characteristics, security, education histories, social networking, stressors, and substance use. This mixed methodology used in the research enabled new local qualitative and quantitative data or information- level of housing- to be collected and evaluated in the framework of other already published research and housing assessments level for the elderly and homeless individuals. The research was carried between December, 2010 and January, 2011, the sampling strategies employed in the research, was either quota sampling or population sampling. Quota sampling was based on the characteristics of the subgroup population involved in the research which were provided by shelters. The staff at the emergency shelters used the sampling guidelines which was developed for the research to identify suitable participants at the shelter. With the help of trained graduate students conducted individual’s interviews. A total of 300 participants were interviewed during the period of this research, including 80 men, 70 women, 60 male youth, 40 female youth, and 50 adults in families. Reflections I learned many lessons in respect to the elderly and people who are homeless: the elderly and individuals in Britain reflect the nation’s diversity, and their distinctiveness must be respected and addressed, this should be in addition to responding to their basin needs such as shelter, food, clothing and health care; their uniqueness of each subgroup should be sensitively addressed. Despite the diversity of each subgroup, almost all homeless individual in Britain are extremely poor and they usually lack decent affordable housing and means for their sustenance. Regardless of these challenges these people are going through, the government must address their basic tangible needs for availability of material resources. The emergency shelters that provide help to homeless individual accessing to basic needs, are in a position to be powerful advocates in increasing the overall pool of resources for the elderly and homeless individuals. The proportion of elderly persons in the total homeless population in the country has declined in the past years, the number of elderly over fifty years have grown. Although, this is a small subpopulation, their numbers in the coming years is likely to escalate as homeless continues unabated. The elderly homeless individual in this research are of special concern because they have been victimized both in shelters and on the streets where they live, and this is a results of poor mental and physical health, and the reluctant of the various local government to incorporate them into ongoing programs. Elderly persons are uniquely being challenged by homelessness; it is a problematic for these people to meet their basic human needs for food, shelter and safety. I also learn in the study that as results of decline in employment and public support of the poor, and reduce availability of low cost housing in Britain, is the contributing factor for the increase in homelessness among marginalised individuals. Those programs that have been initiated by the government to target special needs of homeless individuals may bluer awareness of the structural causes of homelessness, and this has made policy makers to explain homelessness as a result of subgroup failings. The profile of homeless individual in Britain reflects, in part, our social history. For example, at the beginning of 21 century the homeless people in Britain included the amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan war, the blind, and many people with AID/HIVs. Homelessness in Britain can be differentiated along six categories: first, developmental phase of life (elderly); second, gender (male or female); three, social unit (families v. Single parents); four, ethno-cultural groups; five, health status (psychiatric illness, substance abuse); and lastly, social status (war veterans vs. illegal immigrant vs. criminal). Conclusion We began this study by documenting the continued rise of homelessness in the country. This trend of homelessness continues despite the initiatives that have been put in place by the government. How is this possible? The solution for this question needs time and intensive support for people with multiple problems such as poverty, mental illness and drug addiction. The illegal immigrant to Britain faces a host of problems, not the least of which is securing employment and a decent house. Still, in the study we found that majority of people who are homeless simply need two things: employment and affordable housing. These two things have been fundamental barriers to solve the homeless crisis that is being felt in the country. This research is confident of solving the homeless crisis at all level in the country, if the government can implement the finding of this study. The government must do more to elevate poverty, and to increase the supply of affordable housing in the country, not forgetting community partnership should be involved to help to build some affordable housing. Reference List Cullen, Sue, Mediation for young people: a good practice guide (Shelter Publisher, London, 2004). Fitzpatrick, Susan, Homelessness in the UK: Problems and Solutions (Chartered Institute of Housing Publisher, London 2009). Levinso, David, Encyclopedia of homelessness, Volume 2 (Sage Publications, Michigan, 2004). Lipmann, Bryan, The elderly homeless: an investigation into the provision of services for frail, elderly homeless men and women in the United States of America, Britain, Sweden and Denmark (Wintringham Publisher, London, 1995). Oliver, Paul, Shelter and society (F. A. Praeger Publisher, Indiana University, 1969). Shaw, Fredrick, The homes and homeless of post-war Britain (Parthenon Press, London, 1985) Tinker, Anthea, Elderly people in modern society (Longman Publisher, London, 1992). Read More