Investigation of Peer Support Workers for Homeless and Marginalized People

Running head: INVESTIGATION OF PEER SUPPORT 1
Investigation of Peer Support Workers for Homeless and Marginalized People

INVESTIGATION OF PEER SUPPORT 2
Investigation of Peer Support Workers for Homeless and Marginalized People
Background
Homelessness is a problem that Australia has had to deal with for many years. There are
a large number of Australians who do not have homes. This happens because of the various
socio-economic challenges that such people go through. The first reason why there is
homelessness is poverty. There are many poor people who do not have money to acquire
accommodation or housing facilities. Secondly, homelessness persists because of lack of support.
Many people lack where to stay they do not get the necessary support from their family members
or relatives. Moreover homelessness has been a problem in the country because of mental
illnesses. Some people end up living in the streets because of the mental disorders like trauma
and depression (Sharam & Hulse, 2014). Lastly, homelessness is linked to drug abuse. People
who are addicted to drugs like alcohol, cocaine, heroin and many others may end up leaving their
homes for the streets. Homelessness is not a good thing because it does not benefit the society in
any way apart from causing mental distress it is responsible for poor physical health. At the same
time it negatively impact on the prosperity of the families, communities and the nation at large
(Urbanoski, et al., 2018). For this reason therefore homelessness should be considered as an issue
of concern that must be addressed using the necessary measures. Such challenges can be
addressed at the cottages and Assessment, Liaison and Early Referral Team (ALERT). Whereas
a cottage refers to a special facility that accommodate the homeless and provide them with the
healthcare services that they require, ALERT is a program designed for attending to the clients
who have complex and urgent medical and psychological needs.
Aims

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During my time at the cottage I got an opportunity to learn a lot of things about
homelessness. I managed to learn all those things because I got an opportunity to interact with
homeless people, people who had experienced homelessness and the professionals who deal with
homeless people. The first lesson that I learnt is that there are different types of homelessness.
The second lesson that I learnt is that homelessness is not only about lacking a roof, but also
about lacking basic necessities like food and clothing. At the same time I learnt that
homelessness can also be understood from the perspective of healthcare provision. In other
words homelessness is equivalent to lack of medical care.
I also learnt that there are many factors that contribute to homelessness. These include
poverty, drug abuse, mental illness, as well as other socio-economic factors. First and foremost,
homelessness is caused by poverty. There are many poor people who do not have money to
acquire accommodation or housing facilities (Lippert & Lee, 2015). Besides, homelessness
persists because of lack of support. Many people lack where to stay they do not get the necessary
support from their family members or relatives. Moreover homelessness has been a problem in
the country because of mental illnesses. Some people end up living in the streets because of the
mental disorders like trauma and depression. Finally, homelessness is linked to drug abuse.
People who are addicted to drugs like alcohol, cocaine, heroin and many others may end up
leaving their homes for the streets.
From the interactions that I had and observations that I made I realized that homelessness
is a bad experience because it negatively impacts on human health in many ways. Firstly, it leads
to mental illnesses such as depression, Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD), and stress. These are
disorders that affect human health because they deprive the homeless of leading a normal and
comfortable life in the society. Although these are common disorders that do affect people, the

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situation might be worse if it is a homeless person because it makes life extremely difficult for
them (Sharam & Hulse, 2014). The cases of a mentally-ill homeless patient should be taken
seriously because it is like a double tragedy. It is a double tragedy because already, the homeless
are battling serious challenges that can negatively impact on their livers. That is why the
homeless should be given a priority whenever any healthcare decisions are made to allocate
scarce resources, for instance. Last. But not least, I realized that the problem of homelessness
negatively affects human health because it makes the victims vulnerable to acts of stigmatization
and discrimination. although the homeless people should always be given a first priority because
they have a deserving case, there are many instances where they have been stigmatized and
discriminated upon when they seek for medical services (Anderson & Collins, 2014). There are
healthcare facilities which have been accused of denying the homeless healthcare services
because of a belief that they might not afford such services or are undeserving because they are
irresponsible. All these challenges imply that the homeless have become vulnerable to illne4sses
and might succumb to them so easily because no one cares for them. Therefore, to provide an
ultimate solution to this problem, appropriate measures must be taken by the government and the
other concerned stakeholders.
Literature Review
At the Cottage and ALERT facilities, the homeless people are provided with adequate
services that they depend on to improve their conditions. Once the homeless are admitted into
these facilities, they are provided with all the services which can be relied upon to improve their
conditions. However, to achieve all the set goals, the management uses many strategies. The
most outstanding strategy that is applied in these facilities is the use of peer support. Peer support
is an intervention approach in which a person who has experience in a given problem is used to