Homeless as Vulnerable Population in the US Essay

Introduction

The vulnerable population that will be examined throughout this paper is homeless people. The geographic scope is limited to the USA to facilitate data mining and analysis. This population has been selected since a recent study has determined “a drastic surge” in the number of entire families that have nowhere to live (Mai, Turner, & Salman, 2015, p. 688). As such, it is considered critical to overview the relevant statistics and to analyze this group and the associated aspects of vulnerability within three dimensions: resource availability, relative risks, and health status. It is assumed that the application of the Vulnerable Population Conceptual Model (VCPM) will help to evaluate the scope of the problem adequately. It is likewise expected that the model will help to point out the most critical points that need to be addressed at both social and federal levels. Homeless as Vulnerable Population in the US Essay

Description of the Population

According to the recent report published by National Alliance to End Homelessness (2016), 564,708 US residents are homeless. This number comprises both those who are chronically homeless and those who had been homeless for more than a week at the time of the research. The report likewise points out that most vulnerable population groups are veterans, young people, LGBTQ youth, and people over 50 years old. Those groups that are about to become homeless are also large. Thus, for instance, the report says that almost 1.5 million US veterans belong to a risk group which means they might potentially become homeless due to the lack of the relevant resource or health disorders.