The identified organization is a partnership of different stakeholders. The partnership is called a cross-sector partnership (CSP) that aims to solve environmental challenges (Awad, 2023). One stakeholder was Occupy Medical, a non-profit organization that aimed at providing care to people experiencing homelessness. The organization also involved partnerships with local government and the community of Eugene (Awad, 2023). The stakeholders in the partnership include Occupy Medical, the community of Eugene, and the local government. Occupy Medical is based on the moral of providing holistic care to the less fortunate, including haircuts, food, and free healthcare (Awad, 2023).
The dilemma in the context was between the moral root of Occupy Medical and the material aspect of the local community of Eugene (Awad, 2023). Occupy Medical was based on the moral of providing care to people experiencing homelessness openly and freely in public places. On the other hand, the local community held the belief that people experiencing homelessness should be out of public places. Limited resources were also a factor in the dilemma since the local government took a long-hand approach to the partnership. It needed to provide financial assistance to Occupy Medical (Awad, 2023). Therefore, the partnership entirely relied on a volunteer workforce. The provision of healthcare services faced the dilemma of whether to evict people without homes out of the streets or provide care. Occupy Medical faced great retaliation from the community for providing free services in public places (Awad, 2023). Additionally, the law passed by the federal government to crack down on illegal immigrants made it challenging to access the homeless since they would flee any medical camp that was accompanied by the police (Awad, 2023).
The Svaras problem-solving model is divided into three parts: problem description, analysis, and decision-making (Urbano, 2014). In the study organization, the ethical obligation was to help the vulnerable, including people without homes, since the COVID-19 pandemic was severe due to the vulnerability of these needy groups. The government allocated over five million dollars to help the vulnerable group; other organizations also assisted (Awad, 2023). This decision resulted in the best consequences since the dilemma was solved. Secondly, the problem of homelessness and poverty in Eugene was revealed to the public, propelling the decision-making.
The operation faced significant challenges in Eugene, and it moved to Springfield. It failed in Eugene due to resource limitations and challenges from the community (Awad, 2023). There, it rented a building where it provided indoor care. This instance helped reduce the dilemma of healthcare provision. Another factor that led to the success of the operation was the surge of Covid-19 (Awad, 2023). The spread of the virus was great in areas with poverty and homelessness. This event exposed the problem in Eugene, which is among the counties with the highest homelessness (Awad, 2023). The vulnerable were significantly affected by the pandemic; people experiencing poverty fell into homelessness, and the federal and local governments stepped in to help the vulnerable. The local government’s help found Occupy Medical, a popular organization helping the vulnerable community. Therefore, it was placed at the forefront (Awad, 2023).
Dilemmas may happen in organizations due to differences in the stakeholders’ interests. This makes it necessary to take the necessary steps to change, which will solve the dilemma if the organization is to succeed; tools such as Svaras’s problem-solving model help in solving dilemmas. In the study organization, the dilemma was between morals and material. The Occupy Health Organization was based on the morals of providing healthcare to people experiencing homelessness and the vulnerable (Awas, 2023).
On the other hand, the community is resource-limited, and the local government distanced itself. The community was also against helping people experiencing homelessness in open public places. The dilemma existed until the Covid-19 pandemic hit the county, exposing the effect of poverty and homelessness on public health. This made the government and the community step in to work for Occupy Health (Awas, 2023). This is a lesson that dilemmas can be solved if personal preferences are set aside, such as during the pandemic.
References
Awad, M. H. (2023, March 2). Place and structuring cross-sector partnerships: The moral and material conflicts over healthcare and homelessness. SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05360-w
Urbano, R. (2014). Public Administration Ethics: James Svara’s Model. Journal of Human Values. 20. 7–17. 10.1177/0971685813515604.
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