The Drug Problem Among The Homeless

Homelessness is a wicked problem with many layers. One of the most impactful layers is drug addiction. 26% of those experiencing homelessness are also addicted to a number of different drugs.(National Coalition for the Homeless, June 2017, Substance Abuse and Homelessness, Retrieved from Substance Abuse and Homelessness).  The issue of drug addiction is two fold. Narcotics are relatively easy to acquire for even minor injuries. However, the second part of the problem is how the mind changes after the onset of hard addiction.

“Some drugs like opioids also affect other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, such as heart rate, breathing, and sleeping explaining why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death”. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, July 2018, Drugs and The Brain Drugs and the Brain). When someone is addicted to drugs the priority of survival is replaced by the procurement of more drugs. Eventually, this becomes a lifestyle; one that some people can become quite used to. “Additionally, some people may view drug and alcohol use as necessary to be accepted among the homeless community (Didenko and Pankratz, 2007)” (National Coalition for the Homeless, June 2017, Substance Abuse and Homelessness, Retrieved from Substance Abuse and Homelessness). And once a certain point is reached, the person suffering from addiction may not even want to get clean. 

This is an immense uphill battle. The brain can be changed permanently when damaged by drugs and chances of relapse are quite high among the chronically homeless. There is no singular answer to this problem. On one hand serious prescription narcotics like fentanyl, oxycodone, and morphine should not be prescribed so readily. Yet, on the other hand, that is also a legal issue within the medical system. Pain management is a high priority in hospitals to avoid lawsuits and unruly patients. Not to mention drug companies make mammoth profits off the sale of these drugs. The result of that is an overabundance of narcotics. Some people do well in programs, while others have the strength to seek help themselves, and there are some that simply do not. Lack of education also plays a role in this web. I personally believe that being around more positive forces can change a person. If there is a way to inject, not hope for hope can become stagnant, but more awareness and confidence and strength within a homeless community we could start to see a change little by little. Give others the confidence to believe in themselves, the strength to hold themselves accountable, and the courage to try and the wisdom that comes with failure. For I believe what we have is a disconnect with the self. How could something like this be implemented? Who are the right people to do something like this? What would the outcome of something like this look like if it succeeded? What would it look like if it failed? These are all good questions to ask to evoke change and thinking that takes place outside of the box, or in this case, the tent.

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash