Can Video Games To Raise Awareness of the Need to Assist Homeless People’s Access to Nutritious Food?

Sunday, May 2, 2021

There is currently a health crisis in our homeless community and you can help!

Problem alcohol drinking in homeless and vulnerably housed people can lead to malnutrition, which is associated with complications such as alcohol-related brain damage. Homeless alcohol drinkers are likely to have worse health outcomes and different nutritional needs compared with housed alcohol-drinking persons.

A randomized controlled trial of dietetic interventions to prevent cognitive decline in old age hostel residents.
Kwok TC, Lam LC, Sea MM, Goggins W, Woo J
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Oct; 66(10):1135-40.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22948946/

When a homeless person is hungry and finally receives enough money to purchase food, they will choose premise instead of something home cooked
People experiencing homelessness are at risk of being malnourished due to a low income and lack of ways to store and cook nutritionally beneficial foods, leading to a reliance on cheap, ready-prepared foods. They may also lack knowledge of how to achieve a healthy diet in their situation. Provided food sources (e.g. soup kitchens) make an important contribution to energy intake and nutritional health, but may not be optimised to improve users’ diets.

Sprake EF, Russell JM, Barker ME. Food choice and nutrient intake amongst homeless people. Faseb J. 2013;27.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4589081/

Games such as these titles have made positive efforts towards inspiring people to give their money towards food pantries that help provide nutrition to homeless people.
Change is a video game designed to put you in the shoes of a homeless person, one of many backgrounds to choose from, and given options you can study, drink, choose a life that you’d want to see yourself in.

Spent is another video game designed to put the player in the shoes of a homeless person trying to turn their life around. Given a certain amount of money, how do you spend it?

Gardner states that we find it increasingly difficult to open ourselves up to new ideas as we age. Our worldviews ossify, making us less inclined to consider something radically different. Resistance intensifies if we experience unpleasantness after embracing a new idea.

Increasing the accessibility of nutritious foods for the homeless will help them be self sufficient.
Less tax dollars spent. A chronically homeless person costs the taxpayer an average of $35,578 per year. This study shows how costs on average are reduced by 49.5% when they are placed in supportive housing. Supportive housing costs on average $12,800, making the net savings roughly $4,800 per year. Congress will need to invest in permanent supportive housing to drive progress while reducing tax payers’ spending.

If you contribute to this company, you can have your name on the items you donate! NamesOfChange allows their sponsors to place their names on the food cans that they are donating to the pantry.

No, but that numbing, fickle thought really does make us more privileged individuals feel apathetic and forget that we have the power to do something about it. The truth is that these homeless people are connected to the community, a friend, a spouse, a father.
Women, who are more likely to be victims of violence, harassment, or trafficking in shelters.

LGBTQ, whose gender identities are often not respected and who may not be allowed at all inside religious-affiliated shelters.

People with disabilities, who often can’t move around homeless shelters because they aren’t handicap accessible.

Urban.Org ran a survey and of the 363 people experiencing chronic homelessness who were randomly selected to receive treatment, 63 percent engaged with the service providers and moved into housing. Regardless of whether they were actively seeking help, these participants engaged with the program and agreed to move into housing
- https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/dismantling-harmful-false-narrative-homelessness-choice