SUPPORTING VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS

SUPPORTING VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS

1. Support

   • Definition : supporting is the act of making it easier or possible for (someone) to do something by offering one's services or resources.
   • Existing types of support
     • Peer support: Friends and colleagues can greatly impact and help vulnerable people, for example, a child might get bullied for having a mental disorder but the friends of the child can stand up for him
     • Online groups which may provide additional help, such as contacts to call and ask help for to make it easier
     • Professional help such as nurses for Old people in care homes.
     • A physical product that could make daily activities much easier such as remembering which tablets need to be taken or have already been taken.
     • Special educational needs for students with physical or mental disorders is pro vided by the government in the UK
     • There are homeless shelters that provide a meal, a blanket or provide temporary accommodation for little to no cost
     • There are many local support groups to help with arthritis and the NRAS.
     • There is therapy available for people with depression and many other forms of support .
     • Charitable organisations
   • Existing Products that help
     • There are hand massagers and gloves spcifically for people with arthirits
     • There are antideprsants for people suffering with depression
     • There are weighted blankets on the market for people suffering withj Anxiety

2. Vulnerability

   • Definition: Vulnerability refers to the inability to withstand the effects of a hostile environment. A window of vulnerability is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, compromised or lacking.
   • Examples of vulnerable people
     • Pregnant women
     • Children
     • Elderly people
     • Cyclists on road
     • women and children very late at night
     • Economically disadvantaged people
     • Racial and ethnic minorities
     • The homeless
     • individuals with severe mental illness or disorders
       • dementia
       • Autism
       • major depression
       • Anxiety disorders
       • PTSD
       • Arthritis
       • Parkinson's disease
       • Motor neuron disease
       • Multiple Sclerosis
     • Asylum seekers
     • Migrants
     • Refugees
     • Gypsy Travellers
     • Disabled people
       • Blindness/visual impairment
       • Hearing impairment
       • Locomotor disability
       • Learning disability