Week 4 Assignment

People experiencing homelessness

Working with Homeless People

As a social worker, I would like to help people who are experiencing homelessness. My first job after I graduated college was at a homeless shelter. I have maintained a desire to help homeless people and people at risk of becoming homeless as a social worker. An ethical social worker ensures that she provides competent assistance, including the various types of cultural competence that comes from learning about the biopsychosocial composition of people who may receive assistance (Barsky, 2018).

People who experience homelessness live at the intersection of many different cultural factors. It is important to recognize the “diversity within diversity and the uniqueness of each individual served by social workers” (Alvarez & Choi, 2017). The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issues an annual report to Congress to assess homelessness in the United States. There were almost 600,000 homeless people on the single night in 2020 when a census was attempted (HUD, 2021). Nearly 40% of the people experiencing homelessness were African American, which is disproportionate to the general population of African Americans in the United States.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) reports that those experiencing homelessness have high rates of co-occurring health conditions, including behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders (SAMSHA, 2021). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations have consistently been found to have higher rates of intersecting marginalization such as being part of the homeless population. This disparity may be explained by the higher rates of victimization and dysfunctional relationships experienced by LGB youth with family and romantic relationships (McLaughlin et al, 2012). People experiencing homelessness in Puerto Rico have been found to have higher rates of HIV and Hepatitis C, which would be consistent with similar findings more generally in other parts of the United States (Himelhoch et al, 2011). Caution is warranted, however, since people under the colonial domination of the United States experience a particular form of oppression that may make their situation unique. A study of youth in three urban cities including Los Angeles found substance abuse and social estrangement to be prevalent factors in the population (Thompson et al, 2010).

A social worker can serve in many roles in advocating and serving the diverse populations that experience homelessness. On the macro level, a social worker can be an advocate for homeless populations against aggressive government action. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a press release that proudly proclaimed he was going to deal with these vulnerable and marginalized people in an aggressive manner. He proudly confessed that under his administration, 1,600 encampments had been “cleared” (Governor Newsom Calls for More Aggressive Action on Homelessness, Pauses Latest Round of State Funding, 2022). Raising awareness about the human beings who experience homelessness may change social awareness of the cruel behavior of “clearing” encampments. As a social worker, I could improve my skills in public advocacy possibly by engaging with organizations that have core competencies in advocating for marginalized populations.

On a micro level, a social worker could engage with individuals experiencing homelessness in at least three different roles. First, a social worker can help empower the individual by educating those people experiencing homelessness about how they can advocate for themselves. As I grow in my ability to advocate for people who experience homelessness, I could also share those skills with individuals who experience homelessness themselves. Second, a social worker could help those individuals experiencing homelessness at the intersection of different marginalized identities to engage with the services available to them in their intersecting identity. For example, LGB youth who experience homelessness could be referred to organizations which specialize in providing social services to them. I can learn to do this more effectively by continually educating myself about the diversity within the population of people experiencing homelessness and those intersecting communities which participate in the homelessness community. Third, a social worker can provide mental health therapy. That is my most immediate concern in earning my Master of Social Work degree, to learn to treat some of the particular mental health disorders such as substance abuse disorder which affect large numbers of people who experience homelessness as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.