According to class discussions and a number of different readings we have done, substance abuse is not regarded as a high cause of homelessness. It is very prevalent in the homeless community though. I was always interested in how substance abuse effects the homeless community and decided for my blog post this week to do a bit of research into finding out some facts and information.<\/p>\n
\tThere are two different types of substance abuse: drugs and alcohol. 38% of homeless were dependent on alcohol with the abuse being more common in the older generation. 26% abused other drugs with it being more common for the younger generation. In addition, it is more common for substance abuse to be prevalent for the homeless population compared to the general population.<\/p>\n
\tThis bit of information was surprising to me because it contradicts, or at least says we should pay attention more to, how much of a factor substance abuse is becoming homeless. It sometimes may be a direct reason, or it may tag along other factors. Examples would be if someone was behind on bills, they may drink more, which cause them to fall so far behind they lose their house. There was a 2008 survey by the United States Conference of Mayors asked 25 cities for their top three causes of homelessness and Substance abuse was one of the three for single adults (reported by 68% of the cities). Another statistic is that substance abuse accounted for 12% of the cities for one of the top three reasons for homelessness for families. Lastly two-thirds of the homeless say that drugs and\/or alcohol were a major reason for becoming homeless.<\/p>\n
\tMore times this abuse is a result of homelessness than a cause. Once becoming homeless, these people turn to alcohol and drugs to try and cope with their situation. In reality it makes it harder for them to function in society and to try to get a job to get back on their feet. If some of the homeless do become sober, there is little success remaining it while on the street. A lot of the treatment programs have an abstinence type programming which is not a very effective strategy and should focus on staying sober and the possibility of relapsing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
According to class discussions and a number of different readings we have done, substance abuse is not regarded as a high cause of homelessness. It is very prevalent in the homeless community though. I was always interested in how substance abuse effects the homeless community and decided for my blog post this week to do … Continue reading Drug Abuse and the Homeless<\/span>