Shelter and complementary nutrition for the mentally ill

Introduction

            This paper’s purpose is to serve as an academic exercise about providing care to a vulnerable population.  For discussion purposes, the selected group in this case will be the mentally ill population in Santa Cruz, California. This small community maintains a population of these patients that require special medical services and treatment facilities for therapy and aftercare programs. There is a proposal being discussed with the subject being the development of a shelter-type facility to serve specifically those suffering from mental conditions. It can be theorized that through the new facility, an appropriate course of specialized treatment would be more easily administered for these patient’s needs.  This facility can serve as a temporary refuge, a community hub for activities, and potentially a job skills workshop.  Each possibility helps in maintaining strong ties with the community. This project will be presented in the following sections, concluding with the expectations that the local population can have. The project is capable of administrating health care to the mentally ill population in an effort to create a safer and more harmonious future for the people of Santa Cruz.  

Vulnerable population: The mentally ill

            The vulnerable population that I have selected for this assignment regards those suffering from mental illnesses or disorders. In Santa Cruz, many of these people also belong to the homeless and the low-income communities. I will begin by presenting the statistics that represents this population and then conduct an analysis based on these statistics.  According to data obtained from the American Red Cross website, there are approximately 2,000 psychiatric patients residing in the Santa Cruz region. These people’s disorders can be originated from a variety of social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.  Although some of them have a decent income or caring families that assist with their living costs, close to 70% have serious financial problems and sometimes have trouble to pay for shelter and food, which are basic needs that any civilized society should aspire to solve for their vulnerable populations (Donley & Wright, 2012). The present project will reach the lower quarter of the vulnerable population: those who are abandoned by their families and those who are living in the streets, unemployed and with difficulties to solve their basic needs (Markos et. al., 2009).

            Based on the information provided by the American Red Cross, the project would serve a potential population of 200 patients. Depending on the capabilities of patients, tested on a case-by-case study, certain roles can be appropriately delegated. By permitting functional individuals to assist in organizing appropriate project activities, this builds these patient’s self-esteem and morale substantially.  Such activities can cover basic skills, like cooking and cleaning in an effort to expand the patient’s mental capabilities in a manner similar to occupational therapy. The population of the mentally ill frequently presents malnutrition; sometimes because they lack of the knowledge to make wise diet options and other times they are unable to afford healthy food (MacGillivray et. al., 2010). The present project would serve as a benefit to the patients with a rather modest operating cost to the community.

Service provided: shelter and complementary nutrition

            The primary function that this facility would provide is a temporary refuge for those with no shelter.  Long term expectations for the shelter would include additional plans for permanent housing provided by the project. The main facility itself could be purchased from or donated by local government.  Any cleanup, painting, and repairs required can be paid for by collecting funds and donations from the community.   The service of shelter will be complemented with a nutrition plan for supplementing the diet of the mentally ill.  Basic items such as salads, fruit juices and sandwiches would be available at any time.  Research indicates that poor nutrition is related to symptoms that are common among the mentally ill, like poor memory function and vitamins and minerals that are fundamental for a correct mind and brain functioning (Killaspy et. al., 2011). The functionally capable patients would be able to assist in the actual production on a voluntary basis, learning valuable job-related skills for the future. The shelter will also be organized, coordinated and maintained by the patients, under the guidance of the project coordinators.

            Community volunteers will be among what is expected to be a community effort to take part in the project. There is good reason to feel optimistic about the community getting involved and having this team in place before repairs are scheduled.   Upon successful renovation, we will invite the general population as well as the mentally ill to the project’s open-house ceremonies, where we will present our services to the community and a socialization process will be started.

Partners and contributors

            In order to provide the adequate shelter and nutrition for these patients, a substantial amount of resources will be required. Some basic necessities could be contributed through community donations, such as clothes, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc.  The significant donation would be in the form of the actual facility to serve as a base of operations. Our facility would require a building with at least 20 small bedrooms. At this stage, the availability of these rooms would be only on a short-term basis as an emergency refuge. We have high expectations on the success of the facility, encouraging the surrounding community to contribute financially.  This project benefits the quality of life of the entire region, and having the support of the community reflects the spirit of this project. Once the facility has been established, local food producers, restaurants, and other eateries could be approached for assistance with building an appropriate food pantry for the facility.  The patients themselves can participate in garden communities that operate in Santa Cruz. Finally we will have the entire community as a contributor by distributing information and canalizing patients that might benefit from the service, other similar projects have succeed on that (Metraux et. al., 2011).

Estimated cost saved by the program

            The project’s operational costs would be more manageable than a traditional shelter-type facility based on the patient’s active participation in its management. By addressing the importance for proper nutrition, the patients will progress towards a healthier lifestyle, less medication and treatment, and lower health care expenses. After extensive review, we have estimated that for each patient at the facility, one thousand dollars will be saved each month. This information derives from the actual cost of medication maintenance for a psychiatric patient. Based on the pretense that all 20 rooms of the facility are in operational status throughout the year, it can be projected that the vulnerable population will collectively save approximately 50,000 dollars a year by staying at our facilities.  In addition, the facility would offer a more opportunistic future instead of living on the streets. Our facility will not refuse access to those who need it; the only condition is to serve the local area with pride.  The food that will be served in the project’s kitchen will save approximately 20,000 dollars for those patients, who will also have more nutritious, home-cooked meals.  The operation costs of the project working at full capacity will be of around 20,000 dollars, which includes potential training for the patients.

Conclusion

            The United States is one of the most culturally enriched societies in the world. It possesses incredible economic growth that helps establish a high standard of living for many in the population.  There are those from vulnerable populations who are not enjoying the quality of life that we would expect.  The mentally ill face a difficult task in getting equal access to fundamental human needs like shelters and nutrition.  The present project attempts to relieve this burden by providing nutritious foods for free as well as emergency refuge when they are facing difficult times in their life.  We consider that it is one of the most fundamental services society should provide, given the abundance of goods that keeps the country the richest in the world.

Even with all this, we still cope with an increasing marginalization of the mentally ill and an unfair distribution of wealth that pressures the American families that need help the most. The health care system has demonstrated to be useless; in some cases, doctors and hospitals won’t take the responsibilities of nutrition and protection for this vulnerable population. It can be argued that the present project is a citizen-driven initiative to relieve suffering from those who suffer the most.

            This project represents an extraordinary opportunity for the development of society and the local area. It recognizes an effort to achieve a goal of providing help for everyone, not just the ones that can afford it. A compassionate society cannot deny these basic humanistic rights to the mentally disabled population, one of the largest growing communities in severe need of health care in the country.

References

Donley, A. M., & Wright, J. D. (2012). Safer Outside: A Qualitative Exploration of Homeless       People’s Resistance to Homeless Shelters. Journal Of Forensic Psychology         Practice, 12(4), 288-306.

Killaspy, H., Ritchie, C., Greer, E., & Robertson, M. (2011). Treating the homeless mentally ill:     does a designated inpatient facility improve outcome?. Journal Of Mental Health, 13(6),         593-599. 

MacGillivray, L., Ardell, A., & Curwen, M. (2010). Supporting the Literacy Development of        Children Living in Homeless Shelters. Reading Teacher, 63(5), 384-392.

Markos, P. A., Baron, H., & Allen, D. N. (2009). A Unique Population: Women Who Are   Homeless and Mentally Ill. Guidance & Counseling, 20(3/4), 109-116.

Metraux, S., Eng, N., Bainbridge, J., & Culhane, D. (2011). The Impact of Shelter Use and           Housing Placement on Mortality Hazard for Unaccompanied Adults and Adults in Family        Households Entering New York City Shelters: 1990-2002. Journal Of Urban         Health, 88(6), 1091-1104.