About Homeless People on Drugs

The homeless present a challenging population with which to work. The Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, a national organization that works with homeless populations across the country, cites statistics that up to two-thirds of the homeless population suffers from alcoholism or drug additions. Of those, more than half are dually diagnosed, meaning they have a secondary mental illness in addition to their drug addiction.

Significance

Homeless drug addicts, while suffering from a disease from which there is no known cure, often create their own predicaments. Most often, they have been through family, friends and institutions that cannot help them anymore. Treatment centers and detox programs often are ill-equipped to provide the necessary long-term care required by the addicted population, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Types

The types of drug addicts on the street vary. Young people, including runaways and dropouts, are usually homeless for the same reasons as the adult homeless population. Older drug addicts who have been through jails, rehabs and hospitals continue to visit those institutions regularly. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that these chronic homeless addicts utilize more than 50 percent of available community services for healthcare, intermittent rehabilitation, housing and food services.

Prevention/Solution

When drug addicts have additional psychological problems, it is difficult to identify the true nature of the problem because drugs exacerbate the mental illness. Many of the homeless population self-medicate with illegal drugs when they cannot, or will not, continue treatment with their prescribed medication. Programs that focus on treating mental illness in addition to the addiction problems show a higher rate of success in fighting homelessness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Consideration

Drug addicts who do receive rehabilitation services often return to their previous way of life when there is not sufficient follow up or re-entry services provided. They may have trouble getting and keeping a job. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that programs that introduce the homeless addict to outside assistance such as 12-step programs and provide continued medication for the mental illness have a greater chance of maintaining self-sufficiency and avoiding relapse.

Warning

According to the Criminal Justice Forum, an advocacy group for treatment of homelessness and addiction among other causes, reports that the cost to taxpayers of providing long-term rehabilitation to homeless addicts pays off in the long run. Crime that drains the justice system can be lessened when more addicts are taken off the street. Funding and services for the homeless and job placement should be tempered with intense drug treatment programs to be effective.

Resources

• Program solutions from the Urban Institute