Specific Population and the Advocate Pole Paper

Specific Population and the Advocate Pole Paper

Tiffany AbelleraBlas

BSHS/442

06/24/2013

Tim Nolan

Specific Population and the Advocate Pole Paper

Advocate:

Individuals working within the human services field are important resources for individuals in need of his or her services. Advocates and human service workers are dedicated to providing support for, or making recommendations to meet the needs of an individual or a group of individuals with specific needs. Advocacy is defined as the act of pleading, supporting or recommending (The Free Dictionary, 2013). This paper will discuss some issues the mentally ill; specifically the people who suffer from Schizophrenia have to face and how advocacy is crucial to meet their needs.

Mental Illness:

Mental illness is defined as any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma (The Free Dictionary, 2013). Some mental illnesses that affect this population are schizophrenia, mood disorders, personality disorders, and depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, eating disorders, and autism, attention disorders. Mental illness affects the functioning of one's brain but 70% to 90% are proven to be effectively treated, provided proper treatment is obtained (A-Train Marketing, 2012).

Mental Ill Populations Need for Advocacy:

I would have to say that not all advocates are immoral, in fact the majority of advocates in the human services field engage in advocacy because of their personal values, wanting to advance causes that they support (Barsky, Chapter 6, 2007). Since I have worked with both adults and children who suffer from mental illness, I felt that I would lean more towards advocating towards the mental illness population. There are many different types of mental illness, but to name a few there is bipolar I & II, Depression, Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc. The one that really catches my attention and I am most drawn to is Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects 2.4 million American adults over the age of 18 (Nami, 2013). This mental disorder is so serious it affects both males and females. Though the age of when this mental illness will show is different, as for women it starts to appear in their late twenties or early thirties. As for men, it appears in their late teens or early twenties. Since this illness is never the same for every person, it has not been easily to find the causes for Schizophrenia or any type of cure.

Advocating for this type of population comes with its challenges, but as an advocate I would be protecting the clients rights, helping them find services that they are needing, empowering them to want to make there own decisions, and educate them with the skills needed to function on a daily basis. Another part with advocating for this type of population, I would be educating the public about how to help people who suffer from mental illness (Schizophrenia) by holding meeting, sending out fliers, and even word of mouth. Since mental illness affects the brain and its functions, this population needs guidance on how to be safe, be in public, deal with basis needs/wants, what's real and what's not, etc. Many people with schizophrenia have difficulty holding a job or caring for themselves, so they rely on others for help (National Institute of Mental Health, 2013).

Housing

Mental illness is a leading cause of disability and homelessness (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012). People who suffer from a mental illness have a hard time keeping a house, a job, or even furthering their education to obtain a better paying job. Some of the populations who suffer from schizophrenia have a hard time obtaining a house for themselves because of the hallucinations and delusions they suffer. They believe that the voices they are hearing is telling them the truth and so they tend to push their entire supporters out of their life. Since mental illness causes a person to have difficulties obtaining housing, a job, or even education, how are they to survive with no money? Mental illness disrupts a person's ability to function normally in life. If a person who suffers from a mental illness has no job, no house, no education, and no supporters, he or she has no choice but to live on the street with out any medical treatment or help.

Medical Care

When it comes to medical care, one thinks of going to the doctor