Causes of Homelessness: Substance Abuse

• Many people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs never become homeless, but people who are poor and addicted have an increased risk of becoming homeless. Without appropriate treatment, they have very little chance of getting housing once they are on the streets.

• Of the 38% of homeless people who suffer from a substance abuse problem, less than half receive proper treatment.

• Many homeless people develop an addiction after becoming homeless.

• There currently are no federal programs that target funds for substance abuse programs for homeless people.

• Homeless persons with addictive disorders do not usually have health insurance; thus, few of them are able to find the resources necessary to pay for their own treatment. There also are extensive waiting lists for addiction treatment in most states, and these persons are often dropped from the lists because they are difficult to contact.

• Other barriers to treatment include lack of transportation, lack of documentation, lack of support services, scheduling difficulties, daily contact requirements, ineffective treatment methods, and abstinence-only programming.

• Substance abuse programs also lack the resources needed to provide treatment for thousands of low-income persons.

• During the 1980s, because of competition for increasingly scarce low-income housing, persons with addiction problems and mental illness were the least likely to obtain such housing. The loss of single room occupancy housing, a source of stability for many poor people suffering from addiction and mental illness, was a major factor in increased homelessness in many communities.

• In 1996, Congress eliminated Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for people diagnosed with an addiction. This loss of benefits appears to have increased homelessness among poor people suffering from addictive disorders.
  

 previous page       next page

Sources

Addiction Disorders and Homelessness. (April 1999) National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved August 8, 2001, from http://nch.ari.net/addict.html

Causes of Homelessness in America. (n.d.) National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. Retrieved August 8, 2001, from
http://www.nlchp.org/causes.htm

Homelessness: The Causes and Facts. (n.d.) Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. Retrieved August 8, 2001, from
http://www.cohhio.org/Chicagofactsheet.html

Homeless Education & Neglected/Delinquent Programs
Arizona Department of Education, 1535 W. Jefferson St., Bin #24, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Phone (602) 542-4391  Fax (602) 542-3050

                  ^Sitemap