Socially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations (or groups) are all those who are not able to fully secure themselves and their families with the necessary standard of living. For example, minority, elderly, people with disabilities, and persons with special difficulties in finding work. In this paper, I will focus on the elderly comprising one of the most vulnerable groups due to their isolation that results in chronic diseases, decreased mobility, and potential problems of mental activity.
The first challenge they encounter is a psychological burnout. The health of the elderly living in a large city depends on some psychological and social factors. The emphasis is made on the role that public policy can play in the process of shaping a social environment that improves the health of elderly people. Among pensioners, there are groups with different living standards and behavioral strategies determined by a combination of factors.
The most significant among them are adaptive personal resources inherent in the socialization of the community. The social attitude of pensioners is maintained by a negative assessment of their life, depression, and inefficient everyday activities. A considerable part of pensioners experience a social failure, loneliness, worthlessness, rejection by society and the state, and feel psychologically oppressed (“Knowing Your Community,” 2016). A factor of loneliness is perceived by older adults as an extremely difficult one. Therefore, it is necessary to help them feel better involved in employment or other social activities (Code of ethics, 2000). Human service professionals are also to contribute to the high-quality future life of pensioners (Ethical standards for human services professionals, n.d.).
The second challenge the elderly have to face is the violence occurring in low-income communities (Ohmer, Warner, & Beck, 2010). Because of the high labor migration, more and more elderly people left without help or support of their children (Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, 2008). The most common form of family violence against older adults is psychological, economic, and physical violence (ACA code of ethics, 2005).
Victims of violence can be an elderly person. Usually, it is millions of low-income elderly worldwide who suffer from domestic violence having no protection. However, not all of them can seek help from the legislative body of the country because sometimes people are struggling to insulate their wards so that they could not complain. The consequences of physical violence can be physical injury, pain, or impairment of health. Violence can also be psychological when threats and harassment make him or her suffers emotionally. Another very common form of abuse is neglect of an elderly person. For example, refusal of the nurse or the caregiver to fulfill their obligations towards the older adults. Therefore, some social justice advocacy strategies should be introduced into practice (Ratts, 2008).
The third factor is financial instability. Some limited capabilities, either physical or financial, certain information deficit, the newly introduced or increased payment for a number of cultural, leisure, and sports facilities, lead to a significant reduction in the quality of life of older people. Consequently, it seems essential to “provide them with healthcare, security in old age through guaranteed pensions, unemployment protection, and all rights found in the Universal Declaration” (“At-Risk and Clinical Social Action and Service Strategies Toward the Creation of a Human Rights Culture,” 2008, p. 158). Older people are extremely sensitive to the deterioration of their financial situation.
Thus, one can conclude that older people often are not able to lead a normal life and secure a peaceful, decent living in an imperfect system of social assistance. In order to help them, it is necessary to provide appropriate social support.
References
ACA code of ethics. (2005). American Counseling Association. Web.
At-Risk and Clinical Social Action and Service Strategies Toward the Creation of a Human Rights Culture. (2008). In J. Wonka (Ed.), Human rights and social justice: Social action and service for the helping and health professions (pp. 157–203). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Web.
Code of ethics. (2000). Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Web.
Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. (2008). National Association of Social Workers. Web.
Ethical standards for human services professionals. (n.d.). National Organization for Human Services. Web.
Knowing Your Community. (2016). In M. Homan (Ed.), Promoting community change: Making it happen in the real world (6th ed.), (pp. 131-200). Boston, MA: Cengage. Web.
Ohmer, M. L., Warner, B. D., & Beck, E. (2010). Preventing violence in low-income communities: Facilitating residents’ ability to intervene in neighborhood problems. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 37(2), 161–181. Web.
Ratts, M. J. (2008). A pragmatic view of social justice advocacy: Infusing microlevel social justice advocacy strategies into counseling practices. Counseling and Human Development, 41(1), 1–8. Web.