(Savannah) No home. People occupying these beds have no choice but to live in a shelter. Union Mission's Grace House is a source of refuge.
The living arrangement factors in health awareness… more crucial now with concern about H1N1. "We are telling them about cleanliness, washing their hands, keeping their bodies clean, keeping their clothes clean," says Steve Ware. People who don't have permanent housing could easily unknowingly fall victim to Swine Flu. That's why the moment they walk into Grace House they're presented with a care package and it includes sanitizer. "The next person coming out… could be right off the street… could be exposed to several things," says Steve Ware. There is a disconnection… many homeless people don't even know H1N1 exists. Inside the J.C. Lewis Health Center, Dr. Myra Pope educates homeless individuals during treatment. "We've been instructing them on how to sneeze into the middle of their arm and elbow instead of in their hands," says Dr. Pope. Ernest Dorsey takes every dose of awareness to his advantage.
"I wash my hands .. I clean the toilet off everytime I get ready to use the toilet. I try to stay away from people I think that's sick, red eye, coughing," says Ernest. Pope says if it takes getting to the homeless one person at time, that's what they will do. "We have a couple of health education workers that will be going out into the community," says Dr. Pope. After all, Public Health is about helping everyone. Dr. Pope says Health Educators will target bridges and even the woods where some homeless people live to get the message out about H1N1. The J.C. Lewis Health Center will provide the H1N1 vaccine to its homeless patients.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement