Abstract:
Homelessness has remained a growing public health concern and seem to be aggravated during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The homeless individuals are laid open to abject poverty almost every day. They are subjected to various risks that put their life and wellbeing in jeopardy. Lack of explicit attention among the homeless remains evident hence exploring the inequities of those having the least access to healthcare amidst the pandemic is deemed emergent. This paper aimed to explore the experiences of the homeless individuals and trace their vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 15 homeless participated in the interviews in this phenomenological inquiry. Guide questions utilizing open-ended questions were used to collect data. Descriptions among the informants were interpreted using Van Manen’s analysis.
Four main themes emerged from the study: (1) the opposing contextual views of the homeless to the pandemic, (2) the grim realities of being homeless this pandemic, (3) the grey shroud of homelessness and, (4) surviving the pandemic. Though the respondents expressed various concerns in meeting their needs, they also described their own resourcefulness and own actions to manage their situation specially during the COVID 19 pandemic. Thus, this study advocates the needed collaboration amongst the agencies including the health and academic sectors to provide reality-based healthcare to the homeless such as health care programs namely medical missions and street medicine movements.
