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It's more nuanced than that. People who are homeless sometimes have preexisting conditions that caused them to become homeless (mental issues, substance abuse i

It's more nuanced than that. People who are homeless sometimes have preexisting conditions that caused them to become homeless (mental issues, substance abuse issues) and obviously their addictions just get worse. People who are on the street turn to any kind of drug they can find to numb the harsh realities of living on the street. Alcohol and cheap opioids. It would be a struggle to find a homeless person without some kind of substance abuse problem. Addict to homeless process, or homeless to addict process.

atdrummond 3y ago
You’re stripping these people of way too much agency. As a formerly homeless heroin addict, I assure you that the vast majority of addicts and dual diagnosis individuals can get off the street. Estonia and Switzerland have accomplished this for fentanyl and heroin respectively, in addition to stimulant and alcohol abusers. The issue is there’s a cohort who thinks that the solutions that enable safe streets require too much sacrifice of one’s individual liberty - even if said individual abuses their freedom to harm themself and others.
PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
> numb the harsh realities of living on the street not just the street; schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder are substantially over-represented in the homeless population, and many of the people who suffer from these conditions are self-medicating to try to "cope" with them. This is of course a double or triple tragedy: first, we have quite effective drugs that they could use which be much more beneficial than alcohol, opiates and nicotine; secondly, it is much easier to treat these conditions if they are caught early, but the nature of the intersection between US healthcare and poverty means that it very often is not. ps. I learnt all this last night at a training program for first responders.

atdrummond 3y ago

You’re stripping these people of way too much agency. As a formerly homeless heroin addict, I assure you that the vast majority of addicts and dual diagnosis individuals can get off the street. Estonia and Switzerland have accomplished this for fentanyl and heroin respectively, in addition to stimulant and alcohol abusers. The issue is there’s a cohort who thinks that the solutions that enable safe streets require too much sacrifice of one’s individual liberty - even if said individual abuses their freedom to harm themself and others.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

> numb the harsh realities of living on the street not just the street; schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder are substantially over-represented in the homeless population, and many of the people who suffer from these conditions are self-medicating to try to "cope" with them. This is of course a double or triple tragedy: first, we have quite effective drugs that they could use which be much more beneficial than alcohol, opiates and nicotine; secondly, it is much easier to treat these conditions if they are caught early, but the nature of the intersection between US healthcare and poverty means that it very often is not. ps. I learnt all this last night at a training program for first responders.