One of the most devastating impacts on the homeless community is the opioid crisis. About one in three homeless individuals experience substance abuse, with a large number coming from opioids that are injected. In a survey in 2014, 48% of homeless individuals reported that substance abuse was the main reason they were homeless, followed by 44% saying mental illness contributed to their homelessness Injection of opioids and other substances can be very dangerous for a variety of reasons. First, it’s easier to overdose on injected opiates since they hit the bloodstream quicker than drugs that are orally ingested. Second, sharing used needles can spread diseases like Hepatitis C, or HIV. Third, inserting needles incorrectly into the vein can cause damage to the vein, as well as nerve damage.
The opiate crisis is largely responsible for the growing homeless population . We know that we have a problem in America, but nobody wants to talk about how to solve it, especially because this solution is not a simple one, and it’s passionately disputed by people who don’t understand it.
One of the most successful solutions overseas for combating addiction in homeless communities (which in turn can help the homeless overcome a large obstacle of them being homeless), is legal and safe injection sites. At these sites, an individual can bring in an illegal substance, and be assisted in a warm and friendly environment by trained nurses and doctors, to inject their drug of choice. This may seem shocking to a lot of people, or sound ethically wrong, but the statistics on prevention of overdose and death, as well as these individuals getting drug treatment, are astounding.
Many people who are welcomed into a safe environment, which is non-judgmental about their drug addiction, tend to open up about it. They do not die from their drug addiction, because the drug is administered safely, and nurses have substances such as Narcan to reverse an overdose. They also receive sanitary needles, which greatly reduces the spread of HIV. These facilities have drug treatment programs, and the people who use these legal injection sites are free to choose to join a program when they are ready. And they usually become ready at some point.
Access to safer environments and medical assistance encourages long-time addicts to join rehabilitation programs.
Having access to legal injection sites reduces death, disease, and increases the likelihood of one getting drug treatment (which could in turn assist an individual to be able to maintain a home life). The opposition suggests that these injection sites encourage illicit drug use, but the numbers don’t lie. The rate of people going into drug treatment programs are much higher in areas where there are accessible injection sites. Individuals will do drugs regardless of circumstances, and it is up to us to make sure that they can do them safe, and have an option to get help if they desire. Encouraging the U.S law to allow these injection sites is crucial to drug treatment, and lowering the homeless population. People with drug addictions deserve compassion, regardless of how their situation started. Education, warmth, and legalizing professional injection sites will reduce our homeless population, and the opioid crisis.
Written by Denali (Danny) Hall
Citations
Zezima, K. (2017, January 27). Awash in overdoses, Seattle creates safe sites for addicts to inject illegal drugs. Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/awash-in-overdoses-seattle-creates-safe-sites-for-addicts-to-inject-illegal-drugs/2017/01/27/ddc58842-e415-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html
NewsHour, P. B. S. (2014, April 13). Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/facility-works-curb-spread-h-v-among-intravenous-drug-users
Sawbuck Productions, Inc. (2020, January 31). Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://vimeo.com/140074355
Starecheski, L. (2014, December 29). Teaching Friends And Family How To Reverse A Drug Overdose. Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/12/29/371770229/teaching-friends-and-family-how-to-reverse-a-drug-overdose
Kuhn, C., Swartzwelder, S., & Wilson, W. (n.d.). Chapter 9; Opiates. In Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy (4th ed., pp. 221–242). New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Kral, A. H., & Davidson, P. J. (2017). Addressing the Nation’s Opioid Epidemic: Lessons from an Unsanctioned Supervised Injection Site in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(6), 919–922. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.06.010
Addiction Among The Homeless Population. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sunrisehouse.com/addiction-demographics/homeless-population/
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