Assignment Task:
You are assigned the role of PHN liaison at Precious Life Shelter. Precious Life is an Orange County maternity shelter that offers emergency, transitional, and permanent housing to homeless pregnant women. Criteria to live at the shelter is pregnancy and to be drug free. A large percentage of the residents were formerly street homeless, substance abusers, intimate partner violence victims, former foster care youth and engaged in prostitution. A high percentage of residents have at least one mental health diagnosis. Precious Life forbids all cell phone use, requires full time work, forbids use of a car for emergency/transitional residents, and enforces a strict curfew. The staff consists of one coordinator, one case manager, one director and several office staff and volunteers.
Upon the first month in your new role, the residents you meet are the following:
- a 20 yr old with history of severe child abuse, prostitution, bipolar disorder and PTSD. Staff inform you that she struggles with pathological lying. After 2 weeks, she was requested to exit the shelter. While meeting out in the community, she informs the PHN that she has been engaging in prostitution again and has not been keeping her prenatal appointments. Client is 24 weeks pregnant.
- a 20 yr old with history of severe child abuse, PTSD and IV drug abuse. Body weight: 375 lbs at 14 weeks gestation. She informs PHN that she is feeling isolated, unmotivated, angry and eats excessive amounts. PHN suspects prenatal depression. She denies suicidal ideation.
- 21 yr old female with mild intellectual disability. Poor historian and often goes off on tangents during conversations. No history of drug use. Facial features cause PHN to suspect fetal alcohol syndrome. Shelter staff inform PHN that Precious Life shelter is not an appropriate placement for her and will be finding a new residence for her. Client requests PHN to also help her find a new shelter and make medical appointments.
As the PHN liaison, which client would you triage first? Give rationale as to why you would prioritize which client first.
To demonstrate therapeutic communication with the shelter client that was kicked out of Precious Life shelter, what should the PHN first try to?