Free Essay Example on Community Description

Introduction

Skokie community is arguably the largest in the United States of America. It is a village place situated in Cook County, and the Illinois States of the U.S.A. (Market, 2012). Skokie village connects the city of Chicago’s northern borderline (Market, 2012). The village is established at approximately 24km on the north part of Chicago’s municipality area (Market, 2012). Skokie sprung from an expression in Potawatomi, which stood for ‘marsh’ (Market, 2012). It is argued that Skokie village has been advancing as the most significant village globally (Market, 2012). As of the year 2010, the statistics revealed from the U.S. census indicated that the village was boasting of 64,784 people (Market, 2012).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The streets of Skokie village are considered the continuation of the Chicago Street grid (Market, 2012). Importantly, the Skokie village is served mainly by the Chicago Transit Authority, a prerogative the Skokie benefit from as its connection to the city is heightened (Market, 2012). The Skokie village rests on a total area of 10.06 sq. miles, and water at 0.00 sq. miles (Market, 2012). According to the year 2019, Skokie had a total population of approximately 62,700 (De Maio & Burke, 2020).

Description

Furthermore, it is thought that the village has a density of approximately 6,230.13 sq. miles, and with the per capita income of roughly $32,169 (Market, 2012). This community is believed to have emanated from the German Luxembourger agricultural community, although it was later settled with a considerable Jewish population during and after the second world war (Market, 2012). Initially, the largest population in Skokie was the Jewish from Chicago outskirts (Market, 2012). This village is on record for drawing national attention due to court cases determined by the Supreme Court of the (De Maio & Burke, 2020).

The Skokie village street course is a street grid sequence, with a more considerable east-west thoroughfare each half a mile, including Dumpster Street, Howard Street, Main Street, Touhy Avenue, Church Street, Golf Road, and Old Orchard Road (De Maio & Burke, 2020). The village’s streets in the north-south continue with the streets' names save for Cicero Avenue (Market, 2020). In 2003, this village materialized as the first municipality in the U.S. to achieve the recognized fire, public works departments, and police (De Maio & Burke, 2020). Skokie is furnished with a substantial manufacturing settlement and the retail business industry. As of 2020, Skokie's population stands at 62,088, with a mean income of $100,093, and impoverishment estimates of approximately 8.9%. 57.95% of the people in Skokie are Whites (Market, 2020). 26. 96% are Asians, 8.02% black Americans, 5.13% have two or more races, 1.62% other race, 0.21% Native Americans, and 0.12% Pacific Islander (Market, 2012).

Skokie Village Services

There are numerous services needed by the community of Skokie village. Some of the general services include but are not limited to health and human services (De Maio & Burke, 2020). People demand this service to know more about disability, animal control, and senior services. The other function is what is referred to as access to Skokie (De Maio & Burke, 2020). It is a virtual platform for making reports and requests for services.

Additionally, the people in Skokie village need new resident information (De Maio, 2020). This information is useful in equipping individuals with resources, voting districts particulars, among others. Besides, the community needs the online payment services and pet licensing, which permit and regulate the number of dogs and cats in residence (De Maio & Burke, 2020). Inevitably, the community needs the police and fire department services for emergency purposes (De Maio & Burke, 2020). On the other hand, the aging services include benefits access application, senior health insurance program (S.H.I.P.), and Medicare counseling.

The research conducted on the elderly, specifically a 67year-old woman in Skokie about the aging services, revealed the following. I will call the woman Mary, though this is not her real name. Mary confirmed that she knows about the existing services for the elderly, including nursing home, assisted living, home care, adult day services, house cleaning, personal care assistance, pet care, among others. However, Mary has not used any of these services, and neither does she wish to use the services in the future, unless it is so demanding, and that she has no option. When asked why Mary wouldn't want to use the facilities at a later period, Mary explained that she hates being regarded as an older woman to the extent that she cannot care for herself. Mary said that she wants to be respected as an independent woman irrespective of her aging.

Aging-Related Issues

Mary revealed her fears about aging-related issues. Some of the problems she mentioned include chronic health conditions such as stroke, heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Further, she revealed her fears about cognitive health, especially dementia, which leads to the loss of cognitive roles. The other issue mentioned was mental health challenges affecting the old. An outstanding mental disorder among the aging is the depression, which is rarely diagnosed, and therefore undertreated. Fundamentally, Mary expressed her fears of frequent physical injuries, which the elderly face.

A common cause of the physical injuries is the falling of the elderly, making them seek medical attention, and at times they have to be admitted to hospital facilities. Mary did not fail to mention malnutrition as one of the issues related to the aging population. Malnutrition is one of the conditions that may barely be diagnosed. It causes elderly health challenges like a lowered immune system, as well as feeble muscles. As a result, malnutrition can lead to the establishment of other elderly health complications such as depression. In case her fears are confirmed, Mary confessed that she would go to the hospital and seek healthcare services.

The Skokie community is putting in much effort to respond to the needs of its elders. For instance, in most cases, the community visits the elderly in their homes and helps out sweeping, dusting, window washing, laundry, and mopping floors. Often, the unmet needs of the elderly are mainly witnessed in social care. It is even worse when the elderly is disable. The disabled aged may not be able to perform his or her cleaning. This situation calls for a forever help, in that they will always depend on other people. These unmet needs on social care for the elderly can be effectively provided by the immediate families, friends, and relatives.

The aging population plays a vital role in the community, which cannot be ignored. For instance, they teach and nurture the younger generations to live responsible lives by advising them how to handle different situations. Into the bargain, the aging population provides wisdom to the younger generations. Besides, the elderly usually offers material items to others generously, by, for instance, making more immense contributions and donations for charity.

Diseases

An interview with both the caregiver and the administrator revealed nearly similar information. Illustratively, they identified the problems associated with the aging population as follows. Firstly, chronic health conditions are most likely to affect the elderly. Such chronic conditions include heart diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer, among others. They encouraged that it was important for the elderly to always visit the physicians at least once a year for follow-ups. The great concern that was recognized is the transmission of HIV/AIDS diseases. The healthcare giver alluded that most elderly do not use condoms while engaging in sexual intercourse. Because their immune is already weak, they are made more receptive to the contraction of HIV/AIDS.

Moreover, the providers acknowledged that the elderly are more likely to encounter sensory impairments. Occasionally, hearing and vision impairment are common scenarios for the aged. However, the elders are lucky because, for these conditions, treatment is promising. Other identified issues include drug and substance abuse, and bladder control and constipation.

In terms of community response to their elders, the provider and administrator had similar reactions to those of Mary, the 67year older adult. They all agree that the community is doing a great job of helping the elderly, especially by cleanups. The provider affirmed that the elderly are vulnerable and need maximum healthcare compared to the young population. It was justified that the lack of such healthcare needs enhances the chances of casualties and illness among the elderly. Both the administrator and the healthcare giver agreed that the healthcare needs of the elderly in the society should be our collective responsibility, including the government, families, and friends to the aged, healthcare providers, and the community. The government should lead the effort to evaluate needs and services for older adults, whereas the healthcare providers should plan for meeting these needs for the elderly.

Conclusion

The medical practitioners have experience, knowledge, and technical understanding to collect everything necessary for planning and administering the aging population's needs, but with the government's support. Besides, the payment of the services for the aging in society should also be a collective responsibility of all the stakeholders. The responses fit with my impressions of how the U.S. current policy on health is documented. However, there is a possibility for improvement, specifically regarding who has to pay for services granted to the aging. My perception is that this should be a collaborative duty of all the stakeholders. Based on this assessment, the negative aspect of quality of life is that the elderly are susceptible to numerous health problems like heart diseases and mental disorders. However, the positive finding is that the community is ready to stand with the elderly.

References

De Maio, F., Shah, R. C., & Burke, K. (2020). Chapter Four: ‘Looking Outside Their Walls’: Exploring Community Health in Chicago Hospitals. In Navigating Private and Public Healthcare (pp. 63-86). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

Market, O. A. (2012). Street-level.