RESPOND

Provide a substantive response to BOTH peers below answering these two questions:

·  What new things did you learn about another vulnerable population from your colleagues? 

·  What information can you add to their vulnerable populations?

1.100 words minimum Polnoff- The policy that I would implement would be a policy that addresses domestic violence. Domestic Violence as defined by the U.S. Department of Justice is the “ violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim” (“Domestic Violence”, 2020). Some programs already exist for this issue to include a National Violence Hotline which provides victims of domestic violence report their situations in a safe manner and offers information on different types of abuse. My program would offer similar reporting availability to provide victims the ability to contact someone on a 24hour basis to report abuse. This program would provide information on types of abuse and how to recognize it, it would also emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong social network of friends and family to prevent victims from alienating their local support system. This program would also offer group therapy and personalized therapy options either in person or over the phone for victims of abuse to talk about their experiences and rebuild their confidence as well as connect victims with proper medical and treatment facilities that fit their insurance policies or financial situations. The most important part of this program would work with the victims to ensure that they are treated medically for their physical and mental injuries they have sustained by assisting victims with no medical coverage or low-income households with covering medical expenses.

I would consult the victims of domestic violence because it would be important to talk to people who have suffered through this type of situation so the program could be tailored to effectively assisting others who are victims of domestic abuse. I have not personally been exposed to this type of abuse so I would need to learn what methods of care have helped these victims recover from their abuse and how I could best implement it to aid others in their recovery.

2. 100 words minimum Stroman- In this week’s discussion, the vulnerable group that I have chosen to write on is the elderly group. This is a group that is constantly affected because of negligence. The elderly community is one of the many groups that has little to no support. If the path of not paying attention to our elderly continues, we as a society will find ourselves there one day. Majority of the elderly people are living on a wage that is not enough to get them by. With the lack of income, this can cause many problems such as bot being able to pay for medication when needed, or even being able to make it to a doctor’s appointment.

 The elderly community has the most trouble because they mostly are disabled and sometimes feel powerless. There is a lack of resources when it comes to the elderly which can put them at a high risk of having heath issues. There is a lot of barriers within the elderly community like lack of transportation, education, physical and mental illnesses and health services. “Public policy does best when it focuses on improving social capital rather than diminishing it. Strengthening family units builds stronger communities” (Burkholder & Nash, 2013).

Creating a policy that benefits the elderly community that will help them with all doctor appointments, transportation, medication, etc… would be very helpful and would improve the support toward this community.