Review Homelessness FREE presented by Julie Fry, RN
Homelessness Week; 6-12 August 2018
How do you eat when you have nowhere to live? There are over 100,000 homeless people in Australia and on any given night, one in 200 people are homeless. It seems astounding that such a wealthy country has so many people in such desperate circumstances. Julie’s presentation is a must see for all Australians, as it helps us understand the issues around homelessness and in particular looks at food security and its impact on nutrition and health.
Homelessness is not just a pile of statistics: it is mothers and children living in cars, people with mental illness living under bridges and transients living in caravan parks - all for a multitude of complex reasons.
One major problem the homeless face is access to nutritious food. Most lack the money, skills and resources needed to shop for or cook nutritious meals (one young man had a $20 food voucher to last the week - he refused the extra money Julie offered, saying he had to learn to exist on $20). Access to facilities to store and prepare food is usually poor or non-existent. Nutritional deficiencies in the homeless are the underlying cause of poor health and early aging (Evan was 49 but looked closer to 69).
Julie works at Bolton Clarke Homeless Persons Program, liaising with a variety of agencies and government departments so that those experiencing homelessness may have easier access to health services.
For more information and to register for this free webinar click here