Shelter Health… Everyday
Shelter Health will sound like an oxymoron to many who have lived or worked within the shelter system. As service providers understand, those struggling to overcome trauma, extreme poverty, homelessness, and severe mental illness may not always have the capacity to create or maintain healthy living conditions. Paradoxically, the community living environment provided by shelters and day centers has an enormous impact on the mental and physical health of consumers, and on their ability to thrive and meet established goals.
In this training, we discuss the practices and policies that service providers can implement to promote mental and physical health for both residents and staff. We consider the barriers to health and to health care for those who are experiencing homelessness and what can be done to mitigate those barriers by service providers in the shelter system. A healthy shelter checklist and suggested policies and practices are included, as well as questions and scenarios participants can use to determine if their agency is nurturing health and trust in the clients they serve and in one another.
Archived Webinar Video
Webinar: View on YouTube.
Shelter Health…On Very Bad Days!
Communicable disease can cause instantaneous chaos in a community living environment for those experiencing homelessness – resulting in panic, aggression, escalation, staff resignation, complicated trauma, and client abandonment. In this training, we provide a basic overview of some of the more dreaded communicable diseases common among those who are homeless. Symptoms, treatment, and prevention are all discussed for conditions such as scabies, bed bugs, lice, tuberculosis, influenza, and more. Explore the creation of safety plans and policies that ensure clients who are ill are treated with respect and maintain power and control while honoring the needs and concerns of neighboring residents and staff.
Archived Webinar Video
Webinar: View on YouTube.
Shelter Health…for Special Populations
Health care for the homeless is always complex, but for clients in specific circumstances, there are unique challenges to maintaining health and obtaining health care. Victims of domestic violence, unaccompanied youth, and those experiencing the symptoms of severe mental illness face numerous barriers in order to obtain even the most basic health care. This training identifies many of those barriers and suggests ways that direct service providers can mitigate these obstacles and assist special populations in finding health care when needed.
Archived Webinar Video
Webinar: View on YouTube.