Homeless present challenge to social service providers
Our story last night about a homeless man badly in need of medical care has raised several questions regarding government’s response to such cases. According to Director of Human Services Ava Pennil, dealing with adults poses unique challenges because they have the right to live as they please. Compounding that reality is the challenge of coordinating the work of different agencies.
Ava Pennil, Director, Human Services
“We find that the coordination takes place well when it comes to children but somehow when it comes to adults you don’t find the coordination and I don’t think it’s a lack of will or anything, it’s just a lack of, we don’t have many of these cases so it has not been put to a test.”
“But then the social worker needs the assistance of other organisations to get the person to whatever health care they need, be it medical or be it psychiatric. So it calls for a coordination of services, so while the social worker can respond yes, you need the assistance of police, maybe medical personnel or psychiatric personnel in order to get the services that the person would require. You also need the cooperation of the person because if the person is delusional or acting in a way where they become a health risk or a danger to other people, then again we need to address that.”
“It’s a big problem, it’s not something that’s insurmountable but I think it’s something that we have to continually work together and as agencies we have to continue to work together, I think it’s a new challenge for us.”
While the government and organizations like the Salvation Army do offer shelter to the homeless, there is no official policy to on how to deal with the broader issues surrounding that segment of society.
