Vulnerable Population the homeless vetrans Essay - 1728 Words

A Vulnerable Population the Homeless Veterans Patricia Dilbert NUR/440 April 7, 2014 Deanna Radford, MSN, RN, CNE A Vulnerable Population the homeless Veterans In this presentation, we will explore a vulnerable population with the focus on the homeless veterans. According to Mckinney Act†(1987) A homeless person is one who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. One who has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a public or private place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. Vulnerable populations are often used to portray groups†¦show more content†¦Moreover, some lack the capacity to be employed because of the psychological and mental disabilities they have acquired because of their experiences during war. In addition, their inability to access health care services because insufficient funds hinders them from obtaining medications and health services they need to stay well and healthy (Blue-Howells, J., McGuire, J., Nakashima, J., 2008). Studying the needs of the homeless veteran population, a survey was conducted to determine the most significant need of that specific population. Forty-five percent of the respondents said they needed assistance in being employed, while 37% of them needed assistance in paying for housing costs (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2010b). The benefits and services provided to the veteran population should be coming from the Department of Veteran Affairs. However, the allocation of benefits and grants are dependent upon the quality of service and personal behavior of a veteran (McMurray-Avila, 2001). Aside from the need of available low priced housing costs and employment, the homeless veteran population’s access to health care services is the most important because most reasons for their inability to be employed are health related, i.e. psychologically ill or mentally disabled (such as post-traumatic stress disorders), physically disabled, etc. Significantly more homeless veterans have a chronic medical condition and two or more mental health