While drug use is much lower in California’s housed population, by no means does every person who is homeless whippets balloons actively use drugs. Decades of epidemiological research reveals that one-third, at most, have a serious mental illness. De-institutionalization or closure of mental hospitals was initially believed to be a prime cause of homelessness, but this occurred well before the sharp increase in the 1980s. When we look at studies examining why people become homeless the data once again points to different causes than you might’ve read on NextDoor or Facebook.
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- Race, gender, and ethnicity can influence the likelihood of dealing with homelessness and addiction.
- Housing is a social determinant of health, meaning lack of it has a negative impact on overall health and life expectancy.
- Given the pervasiveness of homelessness, most Americans—often unknowingly—have friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors who are experiencing homelessness today or who have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.
- However, there have been increases throughout different subgroups and demographics.
Copyright © 2024, AddictionHelp.com The information provided by AddictionHelp.com is not a substitute for professional medical advice. View our editorial content guidelines to learn how we create helpful content with integrity and compassion. Our free email newsletter offers guidance from top addiction specialists, inspiring sobriety stories, and practical recovery tips to help you or a loved one keep coming back and staying sober. With no money, no home, and no ability to get either, children, teens, and young adults find themselves in a unique position when homeless, which can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.
Homeless persons are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. Of course, some homeless individuals may commit acts of violence beyond self-defense but such acts rarely affect the non-homeless individuals they encounter. To put it another way, any violence by homeless persons is either self-defense or due to the rare violent perpetrator who preys on other homeless people.
By strengthening society’s safety net, so that we all have access to the basic human rights of food, shelter, and healthcare, we not only help those suffering from addiction, we help everyone else too. A significant portion of homeless people do have jobs—they just cannot afford to pay rent. Some receive disability income due to physical or mental problems but still cannot afford rent. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated that roughly 36% of all homeless people suffered from a substance use disorder, a mental health condition, or both.
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There are a lot of assumptions surrounding the topic of “why people become homeless”, especially here in Orange County. While discussing this topic, I often hear people cite mental illness or substance use disorders as the primary cause of homelessness. However, the data from studies looking into these topics and the stories that I hear from clients that I work with do not support this narrative. Homeless people suffer from alcohol and drug addiction at a higher rate than those who have permanent residences. Due to their financial situation, they also don’t have access to the level of care needed to address their drug, alcohol, and mental health issues.
Homelessness & Addiction
Many homeless people find themselves in their current situation due to their addiction. As a result of their addiction, they might have lost their house because they could no longer pay their bills, or their partner or spouse might have thrown them out. Getting people off the streets and into temporary shelter isn’t the only answer to L.A.’s homelessness problem.
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But in another, critical sense, addiction does discriminate among people, in a way that is unjust and deadly, and in a way that shines a spotlight on tears in the socioeconomic web that is holding our society together. It has long been observed by clinicians that social determinants of health (SDoH) can tip the scales against people, in their addiction recovery group activities already daunting quest to recover from any type of addiction. According to the World Health Organization, SDoH are defined as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels.” It is believed that only about 20 to 40 percent of homeless have a substance abuse issue. In fact, abuse is rarely the sole cause of homelessness and more often is a response to it because living on the street puts the person in frequent contact with users and dealers. People who are homeless suffer from substance abuse and addiction at a greater rate than those who have homes.
According to a demographic survey that was done as part of the UCI Cost Study, there were three top reasons why people became homeless. The top two causes were finding a job that paid a sustainable wage, and finding housing that’s affordable. cymbalta withdrawal timeline The third reported cause of people’s homelessness was family issues, which encompassed events like death of a family member, divorce, or abuse. The findings from this study correlate with similar studies across the nation in finding that these are the top causes of people’s homelessness. It found that the first reported cause was either job loss or lack of affordable housing, and the second cause was domestic violence. When I look at that percentage, I see all the women who had to leave a life-threatening situation and are now having to sleep on our streets.
Most shelters and housing initiatives require people to practice drug abstinence before they can qualify for these programs. This policy is not feasible for many, and those who achieve abstinence may fall back into drug use if they remain homeless and are not able to find stable housing. For those who did use drugs in the last six months, 40% of people started using — more than 3 times a week —after becoming homeless. Thirty-one percent of those individuals reported using methamphetamine and 11% used nonprescription opioids more than three times per week. Those who spent most of their nights unsheltered in a non-vehicle (sleeping outside, in tents, in places not meant for human habitation) and individuals who were homeless for more than a year had higher proportions of methamphetamine and opioid use.