Terry Moede of TK Moede Consulting to be Featured on Close Up Radio

EUGENE, OREGON, UNITED STATES, May 14, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- When you’re walking down the street and see a homeless person injured, or in trouble or unconscious, what do you do? Do you walk by… do you stop to assist? Terry Moede of TK Moede Consulting implores you to do something… take action. “If you cannot stop to assist, call 911, or stop someone to assist or engage,” explains Terry.

We all need to ask, “What can I do in my day-to-day actions to become more proactive, more aware, more educated about homelessness? Other action steps can include: volunteer at a local shelter; talk to your neighbors to learn what they’re they doing to help; attend community meetings; call your Senators and Representatives to aggressively support affordable housing and true Universal Healthcare for all. Don’t be the person who just walks by.”

Who are these homeless people, these underserved people? The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development acknowledges four categories of people who qualify as legally homeless: 1) those who are currently homeless, 2) those who will become homeless in the imminent future, 3) certain youths and families with children who suffer from home instability, caused by a hardship, and 4) those who suffer from home instability caused by domestic violence.

Mental illness, alcoholism, and drug addiction are diseases—not the result of lack of will. “I have been in recovery for 42 years, and am intimate with their stories. The most concerning right now are seniors who are homeless and dying on the streets. Since COVID, I’m seeing a lot more homeless seniors in the last 2 years. The harsh truth is, Medicaid doesn’t cover everything. If you don’t have basic healthcare insurance or access through a non-profit medical services agency (Affordable Care Act) to cover co-pays and medications, or access to mental health care, you are at high risk of not receiving the care you require. If you need cancer medication treatment that your healthcare insurance doesn’t cover, you are at high risk of not receiving life saving treatment.”

Without a home, people cannot shower for job interviews. Without a home, they don’t have the required access to technology to apply for an interview. Without a home, simply eating one meal/day can be difficult. According to Terry, “The homeless are literally stuck.”

If you don’t have a job, chances are you don’t have easy access to…
housing,
basic hygiene care,
transportation,
food,
healthcare insurance,
call family… and you are most likely homeless.

The public health care arena isn’t what it was in the 1960s and 1970s, and to exacerbate the situation, a higher percentage of people need help. “Without a social safety net, a lot of people just die on the streets. America needs a social safety net that covers the entire population—including seniors,” explains Terry. “Right now, the amount of accessible care varies across the United States. And for people of color, getting care can be even more difficult.”

Without a physical address many of the basic needs cannot be met. Such as, people cannot easily shower for job interviews and cannot easily be located for mail. Without a home, they don’t have the required access to technology to apply for an interview or follow up on potential opportunities. According to Terry, “The homeless are literally stuck.”

While seniors have been hit hard by Covid, many have been impacted (veterans, foster children reaching 18 and have no place to live, men, women, families, LGBTQ, immigrants) over the last 2-3 years. Basic living factors are negatively impacted by numerous inflationary reasons:
rising rents,
rising insurance costs,
rising fuel costs,
rising medical costs, and
rising food prices,
low wages.

The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill from state psychiatric hospitals is a leading factor to the current population of people that are homeless. “Without a multidisciplinary social safety net, a lot of people just die on the streets. America needs a social safety net that covers the entire population—no one left behind,” explains Terry. “Right now, the amount of accessible care varies across the United States, dependent upon local non-profit medical services/agencies or VA assistance.”

While some corporations, such as Microsoft and Amazon, have donated money, “It’s a drop in the bucket,” explains Terry. “Our leaders need to pass legislation to tax corporations and the .01% top income earners. After all, one person can only have so many yachts and mansions.”

Terry doesn’t have statistics to share. “I just know what I’ve directly experienced over the last 50-something years,” Terry admits. “At this point in my life, I know how vital it is that we all do what we can to serve.”

Beginning her career as a respiratory therapist in 1970, Terry worked as a direct care giver for 17 years. In 1987, she transitioned to IT, working on the first computer systems designed to gather demographic, financial and health data that supports patient care (EHR). As a certified PMP/professional project manager, Terry moved on to work with various healthcare delivery systems and Fortune 500 companies such as Kaiser, IBM, and Ernst & Young/CapGemini. Terry founded TK Moede Consulting Services in 2008.

In 2019, she focused her professional background to help non-profits serve the underserved. In this advisory capacity, she has been working with White Bird Clinic in Eugene, OR, whose mission is to provide compassionate, humanistic healthcare and supportive services to individuals in the community. “My role is to assist with researching and implementing technology applications/EHR that make ensure patient care is documented, provide the correct care, track required outcomes data for grant dollars, and county programs, and share information between clinics as appropriate,” explains Terry.

Non-profits, such as White Bird Clinic, County Agencies, are helping provide a social safety net that was once provided primarily by the churches, public health services, and Rescue Missions. “The amount of money that is being diverted from that government social safety net and feeding hungry children is appalling,” Terry shares. “Funding governmental programs that were to be set up in schools have been denied by Congress, and some those kids are only getting one meal/day.”

Terry’s passion is to stir awareness and support for the homeless and mentally ill and find ways to help solve these problems via early intervention programs, high school rehab programs, and community awareness. “The Electronic Health Record (EHR) tracks pertinent clinic information, quality measures and compliance with federal regulations, which greatly helps procure grants and funding. This is where I’ve spent my career, so using that experience and expertise to help people get off the streets makes perfect sense.”

As for the future, Terry shares, “I am questionable and concerned about our future. Homelessness has become normalized in America/invisible. Homelessness is not normal or humane, and for this reason, I am very concerned, “I am responsible. We are all responsible.”

Close Up Radio will feature Terry Moede in an interview with Jim Masters on Thursday, May 16th at 5pm Eastern

Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio

If you have questions for our guest, please call 310-600-7223

For more information about Terry Moede or TK Moede Consulting, please visit https://www.tkmservices.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
+1 631-850-3314
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