Written by Julia Marvy
Health care is very important for every individual, regardless of age, gender, religion, and socioeconomic status. It is a way to improve someone’s overall health, whether that be physical, emotional, or mental. It is a way to diagnose, treat, or prevent physical or mental problems. Health care coverage can be quite expensive, however it is necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are approximately 689 million people living in poverty all around the world. Without a stable and sustainable income, people do not have the means to afford proper health care, which is a huge problem. Those living in poverty need to be able to access health care in order to live their lives to the fullest and in the healthiest way possible.
Homeless Entrepreneur (HE) is an organization that fights to end homelessness through economic empowerment. HE works to help those living in social exclusion get back on their feet. There are individuals living in poverty that have the desire to succeed and change their quality of life, however they do not have the proper resources and funding to do so. That is where Homeless Entrepreneur comes in. Homeless Entrepreneur has a variety of different programs within the organization that help individuals with various aspects of their lives. HE helps its program beneficiaries find housing and job opportunities, so that they can live a stable life on their own.
The health department at Homeless Entrepreneur works to find health care resources to help and encourage the entrepreneurs to live a healthy lifestyle. Individuals living in social exclusion do not have the same access to healthcare and without a sufficient income, there is not much hope of receiving the proper treatments and diagnosis in order to live the healthiest lifestyle possible. Homeless Entrepreneur aims to help these individuals succeed in all aspects of their lives, including their health. For example, the organization is partnered with a dental clinic, Ahoa, and a foot center, Clínica Mayral, that donate their products and services to help the Homeless Entrepreneurs. The health department continues to seek out other health care services that would be willing to help out the homeless entrepreneurs live the healthiest lifestyle possible.
“We hope to raise awareness to support Homeless Entrepreneur and create greater visibility via social media to improve the health of people with foot related issues.”
He also added “I have enjoyed getting to know your system and how it can help empower people.” Dr. Mayral enjoys the partnership because he loves helping people who need the help, while also promoting his clinic. He believes that all of these individuals deserve this care because there are so many expectations in the world today for people to look and be a certain way, and not everyone has the means to do so. With the help from Dr. Mayral, more Homeless Entrepreneurs will be able to receive foot care when they need it most. Without proper housing and footwear, it is possible and likely for individuals to develop foot problems, and now with the help of Dr. Mayral, HE can provide Homeless Entrepreneurs with the same health care as those not living in social exclusion. With the help of Dr. Mayral and the dental clinic, HE’s beneficiaries are receiving better health care, and Homeless Entrepreneur continues to search for more health care providers willing to donate their time and resources to provide those in need with proper health care.
Homeless Healthcare Survey
The homeless population is at a higher risk for diseases that are usually preventable and earlier death. Many homeless shelters are not sanitary, which can lead to health problems as well. In shelters, there are often a lot of people, and this can be an easy way for diseases to spread rapidly and to a lot of people at one time. Many homeless people are also denied access to healthcare and health care providers may have prejudices and misconceptions regarding people experiencing homelessness. Several people living in poverty also have to make decisions on how to spend the small amount of money they do have. Oftentimes that money is spent on food, clothes, and shelter rather than healthcare. The mortality rate of homeless people is exponentially higher than those that do not live in poverty.
In Philadelphia, PA, the mortality rate of homeless people is 3.5 times higher than the general population.
In New York city, there was a rate between two and three times higher than the general population.
In Toronto, Canada the mortality rate for homeless people was higher than the general population, however much lower than several other United States cities. This is likely due to Canada having universal health insurance and health care access for all citizens; homeless people are not denied health care in Canada as frequently as in the United States.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is the idea of improving the overall quality of life for those in the workforce and their families, as well as the entire community and society, including those living in social exclusion. The healthcare industry faces a lot of challenges that a lot of people do not realize when dealing with healthcare. There are labor shortages in nursing, everchanging and expensive technological advancements, meeting quality standards, and community dependence. All of these make the health industry challenging to operate. Hospitals have to work very hard to gain trust and maintain the trust of the patients and their families all while dealing with their internal challenges.
In terms of corporate social responsibility, there is not much assistance on how to implement CSR in hospitals and the healthcare industry. Corporate social responsibility could help the healthcare industry focus on social issues, such as homelessness, that could improve their image and the way the public views healthcare. CSR can help those living in poverty have more access to healthcare. If the healthcare industry can learn how to implement CSR with even greater social impact, then many more people will gain healthcare access who perhaps did not have it before.
Access to healthcare is extremely important when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. Without healthcare, people leave health problems undiagnosed and untreated, which can be even more detrimental and will eventually lead to chronic health problems. No one should have to choose between spending their money on food or getting their illness treated. If healthcare was available to all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status, many issues and challenges would be resolved, and more hospitals and other healthcare facilities would be seen in higher regards. Healthcare is a necessity for every person, including those living in social exclusion. Being healthy helps an individual living in poverty get one step closer to bettering their life and succeeding in several other areas of life. Being in good health makes the overall quality of life better, and everybody deserves access to it.
When asking one of the Homeless Entrepreneurs in South Africa, Chadwin Alburn Minaar, about why he believes health care is important, he said that diagnostic tools are essential in health care. He spoke about rapid diagnostic tests and said
“physicians are able to identify disease and irregularities in one’s immune system. Rapid diagnostic tests detect the presence of viral proteins. They directly detect the presence or absence of an antigen.”
He also mentioned how rapid test kits are more readily available and the results can be known quite fast. Rapid tests are not as accurate as PCR tests; rapids may fail to recognize disease. He also mentioned how the techniques and technologies that are now available make it easier for physicians to identify abnormalities, which is why diagnostic tools and tests are so important. Chadwin himself also used to be a medical technician where he saw these technologies and techniques develop and change first hand.
References
Plumb, J. D. (2000, July 25). Homelessness: Reducing health disparities. CMAJ. Retrieved
March 3, 2022, from https://www.cmaj.ca/content/163/2/172.short
Tehemar, S. Z. (2020, June 17). Corporate Social Responsibility in Healthcare. Health Works
Collective. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from
https://www.healthworkscollective.com/corporate-social-responsibility-healthcare-sectors/