Introduction
Photovoice offers the community leaders and policy makers with an opportunity to gain insight regarding the interests and the needs of a certain population. Photovoice is an engagement tool that provides a springboard for action, either through the population involved, by the local authorities and well-wishers, or together in collaboration. In this case, an empty shopping cart will be used to raise awareness concerning the challenges the homeless population encounters in getting food and accommodation or rather a sustainable livelihood.
The empty shopping cart brings forth various meanings. The general perception about a shopping cart is that it should be loaded with clothing, groceries and have a happy mother pushing it around a busy shopping mall. When the underprivileged people see an empty shopping cart, they feel guilty since they are not capable of filling it with groceries or clothing. For this case, this article will reflect on the situation at the Hope Mission, which serves homeless people in Butler and surrounding populations of Ohio. The Hope Mission helps the poor unlock the chains of poverty holding them and find hope in life. Many people living in such organizations are led to believe that no matter how much they strive, the chains of poverty seem to tighten. The empty shopping cart symbolizes that the poor cannot be free from poverty chains since the Hope Mission program is the only solace they have.
The empty shopping cart is symbolic of a problem that needs to be solved because the poor needs attention. The challenge is that there is a lack of enough support to fix the problem. However, community leaders and relevant authorities should combine efforts before the social gap worsens.
Biases, judgments and preconceptions about the homeless population
The size of the homeless population is growing while the housing facilities for the homeless remain to be less. There is a general misconception that the homeless people are a lazy lot that needs to strive hard and take responsibility regarding their livelihood. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and the reality is that utilities and debts are delayed, and if a job opportunity is available, the earnings cannot cater for daily bills and the debts. The debts may no longer stay on hold, and one is forced to pay the monthly bills or is kicked out to live in the colds. The fact is that in the homeless centers just like the Hope Mission, people live under a dark sky, many adults have lost hope, and youths are pregnant and dependent on drugs. The challenge to the society is if it can stop the surging storm before it empties everything and washes the hopes of the poor.
The impact of legal and ethical issues concerning health delivery
In a bid to incorporate nursing support to cater for the homeless in Hope Mission, legal issues have to apply. Accessing an institution’s premises to take a picture might require a written consent from the authorities. One has to get consent to avoid being charged with trespassing. Besides, cultural sensitivity is important when deciding how to create a relationship with the target population. The photos should be taken and translated in a manner that will not harm the target population. The intention or rather aim for taking this picture should be intended to do good to the society. For instance, the empty shopping cart is not meant to ridicule the underprivileged, but it is a symbol that offers information about the social disparity in the society. The picture offers an understanding that basic commodities and the health services are scarce. The picture serves as an awakening call for the respective authorities to take action by considering the place of the disadvantaged in the community.
The impact of this project on addressing social determinants of health
This project aims to reach policy-makers, community members and other groups who may be useful to initiate change for the poor in the community. The empty shopping cart is meant to symbolize the current situation of the homeless. Consequently, this helps define the goals as well as health needs for this population. For instance, the mainstream community might understand community health as infant mortality rate, teen pregnancy, and less life expectancy. This kind of society takes pictures that underscore the importance of having food and accommodation yet health is the basis for a good lifestyle.
How this project intends to change ideas and assumptions about others
The empty shopping cart enables the community to reflect the condition of the underprivileged. Therefore, this picture offers a platform for dialogue about the pictures via group discussions. This picture also engages policy makers and provokes them to initiate change based on society ideas and contributions. Many homeless people rely on the shopping cart for livelihood and in this case, it is empty. This condition exists because this population has been ignored and less information is shared about their wellbeing. This picture offers qualitative data to policy-makers to formulate policies that stimulate change. Ultimately, the empty shopping cart serves as a platform for dialogue upon which the affected population can be well understood.