By Marvin So
As Berkeley students, it’s easy to go about our daily lives
rife with midterms, clubs, exercise, and maybe even social activities, and
ignore the ubiquitous homeless individuals occupying the curbs and nooks of
Telegraph. There are about 280 chronically homeless individuals living in
Berkeley on any given night, along with 680 others who live in streets, shelters, or transitional housing programs.
Furthermore, due to the recent economic downturn, the Berkeley population of
people living in temporary situations or close to being evicted has increased
ten-fold. Much has been done by the City of Berkeley to support these
individuals in accessing services and developing self-sufficiency, though it is
by far insufficient to account for all people in the area experiencing
homelessness.
The prevalence of homelessness in Berkeley provides an
excellent illustration that there is not enough being done to mobilize action
in light of an array of complex factors including income inequality, reduced
government support for the poor, and decreased affordable housing units all
over the country.
Examining homelessness from a public health perspective, a
question of temporality arises. Does poor health contribute to being homeless,
or does homelessness moreso contribute to ill health outcomes? Understanding
the health issues of the homeless is a vastly important issue to consider, as
reduced funds towards emergency departments means greatly reduced emergency
care access for low-income individuals. Moreover, since low-income communities
are more likely to require emergency care, trauma closures act to further
exacerbate inequalities in health among the very poor.
Common health issues among homeless communities can include
mental health problems, substance abuse problems, bronchitis/pneumonia, and
skin infections. Conversely, a serious illness or debilitating disease can
trigger a downward spiral from losing one’s job, to deterioration of savings to
pay for treatment, and eventual eviction. Lack of access to affordable care
results in minor issues turning into major disabilities; in turn, the tax
burden of lack of access to care for these individuals is greater than if they
were to receive primary or preventive services earlier on. This is the
philosophy that operates many community-based clinics and organizations aiming
to act as a safety net for people who cannot access services due to economic
barriers.
Addressing homelessness offers public health professionals a
key opportunity to address an enormous social determinant of health – lack of
safe, adequate housing. If we can work, through service, advocacy, and policy
to slowly erode the discrimination and barriers imposed upon the homeless, we
can make impactful change towards more equitable health outcomes for all
communities.
If you’re interested in learning more about homelessness,
poverty, and social justice, UC Berkeley provides a variety of opportunities to
do just that. Check out the following resources and find a program or
organization that you like – it’s going to take an enormous effort to begin to
solve a problem as multifactorial as homelessness. What better place to
mobilize this grassroots movement at Cal, the mecca of impassioned students
acting for social change? With this information, what will you do to make a
difference in the community?
- Cal
Corps Public Service Center, publicservice.berkeley.edu
- The
Suitcase Clinic, suitcaseclinic.org
- The
Berkeley Free Clinic,
- Cal
Habitat for Humanity, habitat.berkeley.edu
