Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  What housing programs are available and most effective against homelessness? There are many housing programs available that help eliminate homelessness. Many of these programs are available nationwide and ready for those in need of social services. There are three main programs that provide housing. The three programs are Federal Housing Assistance program, Permanent Supportive Housing, and Housing First.  The first being Federal Housing assistance. They provide Housing Choice Vouchers or section 8 vouchers for low-income households to rent modest market-rate housing of their choice.   There is research that support this is the most effective method to eliminating homelessness as it helps prevent families from losing their home.  The Second method is called Permanent Supportive Housing. This program is also a rental assistance programs with additional support services for individuals living with mental illness. These programs put housing and support services ...

      New Bill (SB 603-1) to Help People at Risk or Experiencing Homelessness   This new introductory bill can be a useful tool to deal with the rising issue of homelessness as there will be more people who will be losing their homes this year. This is due to an increase of price in everything we purchase For those who are unfamiliar with who our Oregon Governor is; Tina Kotek was recently elected after winning in the 2022 midterm election and during her campaign, she made a promise to tackle on homelessness. Not only did she recognize how big the issue is but promised to create many social and economic programs/opportunities as a method to counter homelessness and the rising cost of living. Earlier this month, Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, introduced a bill that would provide the unhoused or those at risk of becoming unhoused $1,000 a month for 12 months. The qualified individuals are those experiencing ho...

In 2016, Canada introduced MAID, medical assistance in dying program for adults with terminal illness. There was an update to the MAID program in 2021, where individuals with serious and chronic physical conditions would be eligible, even if the condition was not life threatening. In 2021, there were 10,064 MAID cases which accounts for 3.3% of all deaths in Canada. In 2024, MAID will be available for individuals with severe mental illness as well. This has raised concerns on the ethics of this program and if it is making death too easy of a solution for those in a vulnerable state. The MAID law itself is vague with the motivation not to offend people. The concern is due to the vagueness of the law, it is not specific enough to protect people. Canada has some of the lowest social care spending and is known for being a country with very limited funding to help the unhoused and those with disabilities. It was found that it was more affordable to have people go through with assisted death...

The opioid crisis has become a growing issue in our society, and it's not hard to see why. In many cases, individuals become addicted to opioids as a result of medical treatment. Pain management is essential, but with doctors overprescribing pain medications, patients can quickly become addicted. One of the consequences of addiction is an inability to work, and when people lose their jobs, they can no longer pay their medical bills. Healthcare is expensive, and when people can't pay their bills, they risk falling into debt or even bankruptcy. This situation can lead to a vicious cycle of homelessness and addiction that can be difficult to break. Unfortunately, this problem has been exacerbated by the actions of big pharma. Pharmaceutical companies have been accused of engaging in aggressive marketing tactics to push their products, including painkillers. They downplayed the risk of addiction and actively lobbied to prevent regulations that could limit the number of opioids pres...

When you think of the top reasons people are homeless, one may typically think of substance abuse and severe mental disorders but there are many other causes for people becoming unhoused. Domestic violence towards women and children can escalate to the point of homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic added to financial issues in the home for many which lead to increased stress and violence. If the victim lost their job and was told to isolate, they would be stuck with their abuser. Some situations come to the point that the mother and child feel safer unhoused than with their abuser. Why would this lead to homelessness versus moving to a low income home? Many women fleeing domestic violence are survivors of financial abuse. This form of abuse can mean not having access to family finances and/or not being allowed to work. These abusers typically isolate their partners from social networks so they have few friends or family to rely on in time of need. Due to lack of affordable housing a sin...

  Volunteering and the good it offers.             Volunteering offers a lot of help and good to your community, but it is not just the people you are helping the receives the benefits of volunteering, you the volunteer receive benefits also. Helping yourself might not be one of the first things you think about, or maybe you don’t think about it at all when you decide to volunteer, but the benefits are there for you. There are plenty of list out there in the world of the top 7, 10, or 12 reasons why to volunteer, and they are all good reason, but I decided to give my top 5 and hopefully help you decide or possibly inspire you to volunteer. Now there are so many different ways in which you can volunteer, some are simple and some are more work (work in a homeless shelter, work in a food bank, donate books and cloths, just to name a few), but they all offer benefits to you. 1)       Volunteering ca...