If you’ve been in any major city, you’ve noticed people who are homeless. Maybe you’ve ignored them, given money, or listened to what they had to say. Most people, however, don’t think too critically about why the homeless are present, and ignore their presence. Or, they might assume that just about all people registered as homeless are drug abusers and alcoholics. Coupled with the common conception that drug abuse and alcoholism is more a judgment of character rather than a disease, there’s little morality left for the homeless person.

Therefore, to some homelessness might be seen as a poor character trait: that someone was too lazy, too unproductive to find themselves a job and get on their feet again. What’s really happening is that once addicted, the homeless person falls into a pattern of seeking out drugs, food, and little else. They don’t move forward with a plan to heal, because it’s hard enough to live just one day without a home. In survival mode, it can be difficult to think past the next 24 hours, or even the next hour. That’s much the same mentality when dealing with a crippling addiction. Typically, homelessness comes before substance use disorder, though it is possible to develop a substance use disorder disorder that could lead an addict to homelessness, as “two-thirds of homeless people report that drugs and/or alcohol were a major reason for becoming homeless.”

It seems, then, that the implementation of programs focused on relapse, rather than abstinence-only programming, might help to combat the seriously high risk of relapse, and help more people that emerge from homelessness to find the resources necessary to stay sober and financially stable. However, it’s crucial for the homeless addict to get off the streets, and away from the high rates of drug use, so homelessness and drug addiction must be treated simultaneously, not unlike dual diagnosis. Relapse prevention, coupled with supportive housing programs, might help to lower the rates of homelessness and substance use disorder.