Who is Responsible?

I saw this article today about a Lafayette business that was hindered in trying to perform humanitarian aid for members of the community: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/12/04/3015111/homeless-restaurant-indiana/.

This article made me reflect on our conversation in the last class about responsibility in the world of public health both locally and globally.  This restaurant was performing a public service by providing a once weekly meal for disadvantaged individuals in the community.  However, neighboring businesses were uncomfortable with the situation, and were ostensibly worried about the security of their own businesses.  Despite the fact that the only issue that ever arose out of these meals was stopped traffic due to long lines, the constant pressure by neighbors and law enforcement led the owner of the restaurant to stop the program.  While I recognize that there may be more to this story than meets the eye, I do think it raises some interesting questions as to whom is responsible for providing social services as well as the meaningful impact (whether positive or negative) that a small group of individuals can make.

I believe this situation, despite its relatively small scale, is representative of some of the larger issues facing humanitarian aid and public health.  The restaurant owner saw a need that wasn’t being met within the community and decided to take action in the best way she knew how.  However, others’ discomfort with seeing the face of poverty in their own proverbial backyards ultimately shut this program down (Keyes provides examples of other similar cases across the nation).  Are the homeless and socioeconomically disadvantaged (or disabled or diseased) to be shut away?  One point upon which we all agreed this semester is that funding for public health and other humanitarian based projects is lacking and relatively difficult to come by without institutional support and the prospect of providing deliverables.  Yet here is a situation where a need is being met- with no external financial assistance.  It was mentioned in class that we need more wealthy individuals to get on board and contribute to health causes.  This may be true, but we also need more people that are willing to do whatever small services are within their means, and a system that allows for and supports this happening. 

So, who is responsible?  Is it the government?  Law enforcement?  Public health workers or other medical professionals?  Or is it the individual?  The answer, I think, is all of these- dependent on the context, the ability, and the means to perform services.  Achieving the international health goals of equity, access, and total health will require holistic approaches that incorporate individuals and organizations at all levels of society.  The question we must ask ourselves is not "how can I possibly make an impact on the large scale problems facing the global health community?"  Rather, the question we must ask is "how can my action inspire others to do the same?"
  

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/12/04/3015111/homeless-restaurant-indiana/

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vnPgEP-Ids#!