Page 23 - LTHC Publics Catalog, Spring 2018 Update

EMPLOYEES

Health Insurance: A significant amount of people experiencing
homelessness suffer from illness, such as cancer and diabetes. Not
being covered by insurance means that it is almost impossible for
these people to receive proper and timely treatments for their dis-
health insurance ease. Even if they use the insurance that LTHC provides, the near-

est eligible health care provider is often far away from the Lafayette
area. The under coverage of health insurance must be analyzed in
the context of related local and federal policies.

Mental Illness Service: The mental illness issues that people ex-
periencing homelessness are having are significant enough for us to
address separately from their physical health problems. For LTHC,
the lack of mental illness treatment program means it is almost
mental health inevitable that people suffering with such mental illnesses would
rely on programs such as the permanent supportive housing. In ad-
support dition, ending the state of homelessness is more difficult for these
people because serious mental illnesses disrupt people’s ability to
perform essential aspects of life.
Rehab Facilities: At the risk of reinforcing stereotypes of peo-
ple experiencing homelessness all being drug addicts and alcohol-
ics, the correlation between addiction and homelessness remains a
strong one. According to LTHC staff, the Greater Lafayette area
lacks a rehab facility that can accommodate LTHC’s guests. With-
rehabilitation and out proper treatment, substance abuse can contribute to perpetual
homelessness, and even endanger the individuals’ lives. To deal with
recovery support addiction, however, LTHC realizes that it has to be addressed with

the mental illness issue because a lot of the addiction cases are due
to guests’ improper self-medicating to address their mental states.
Not only does LTHC need to establish a long-term partnership
with a local rehab facility, but it also needs to implement health
care campaigns that educate guests about the dangers of self-med-
icating.

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