Save Addicts

Bill Thompson is an ambulance driver and EMT in Illinois.  He is also a big-hearted man who I am proud to know.  And he wrote something that has been dear to my heart for a long time:

"The longer I spend in this field the more I realize I have to be a champion for addicts. Seems like every day lately I overhear, or take part in, a conversation that centers around addiction.

"The points being offered are usually the same, 1) Addicts aren't as good as the rest of us, 2) They choose to be addicts, and 3) Why is it our responsibility to save them?

"All three are points that make me want to punch a hole in a wall.

"1) Addicts are the same as everyone else. They are people, and I guarantee all of us are surrounded by recovered, or active, addicts and we have no idea. If anything, if we choose to turn our backs on those suffering from addiction then we aren't as good as they are.

"2) No one chooses to be an addict. The science bears this out, but beyond that, if you really think someone chooses to lose control and alienate those who care about them, I don't know how best to respond to that

"3) We can't save addicts. We can keep them alive, we can help them. That's the most we can do, and we do it because we are human beings. The person addicted to heroin is still a person, and it's my responsibility as a human being to help my fellow man, when I am able.

"Very few of you will read this, but this is a topic I care more about every day, and I'm not backing down."

Homelessness and Drug Addiction

If you see a bunny, you may be addicted.

I posted on Facebook recently that homeless folks were just as worthy as other folks, just in a different situation. I received a rebuttal from another person, having met at least one homeless person. His response could be summarized thus:

All homeless folks use drugs.
Drug users are weak and thieves.
Therefore, these are less worthy than others.

Well, I know a number of homeless folks who do not use drugs, not addicted to anything, and I know a number of drug users (also homeless) who are not thieves. But there is a stereotype there that has some truth to it. Allow me to unpack a general trend of the homeless and addiction.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately nine percent of people who become homeless do so because of addictions. This doesn’t mean that others aren’t addicts, but it wasn’t their addiction that caused their homelessness. So let’s just say that 15-20 percent of people become homeless with an addiction. What everyone agrees on is that most people aren’t addicts when they become homeless.

The far majority of them. Approximately 70 percent of all people who become homeless every year find housing in less than a year, most of them in a few months. Most of these people certainly didn’t get housing maintaining or increasing their addictions. A few did. But most of them were never addicted to begin with and some gave up or reduced their addictions to meet their goals.

What about the rest? Well, the people who are generally considered “homeless” are those who have been on the street for more than a year. These are the folks who have been without a decent night’s sleep for at least a year. These are the folks forced to move, with everything they own, sometimes more than once a day. These are the folks who tried to get work, to get into school, to find a place to live until they had given up hope for themselves. These are the folks who have had their possessions stolen. These are the people who have nothing left but regret.

So almost all of these folks who are chronically homeless are also sufferers of chronic stress. And since they have no tomorrow, they need to forget. And drugs or alcohol offer that way out.

Again, not everyone takes that way out. Not everyone wants to be seen as the wino, the bum on the corner. Or, I should say, some folks have enough self-respect left to care what people think about them, so they do all they can to avoid that most disgusting, most degrading of American occupations. The man openly drinking a 40 ounce outside a convenience store, who is shooting up in a public restroom are really the only ones who have no self-respect left to give in this country. They really don’t care, because they’ve lost everything.

This is why people who think that folks in this state need a few months to brush themselves off and get out there and struggle for their sobriety, their self-respect and their survival don’t really understand the state of the chronically homeless, especially those who are addicted. It took at least a year, possibly years, to drive a person into abject hopelessness. It will take some time to climb out. I think of the way out as stepping stones.

1. Self-respect This stage will only happen when a person receives respect that they didn’t necessarily deserve. When they see others respecting them by giving them kindness and opportunities for hope, they will think that maybe their view of themselves need to change, and they want to earn the respect they are receiving.

2. Better living When they see themselves as someone who wants to live, they will see the squalor they live in, and want to improve their state. That desire doesn’t do anything unless they also have a hand up, because one cannot jump out of the ditch of homelessness themselves. But they will accept that hand, because they see the necessity of it. They may accept a place in a village, a spot in a treatment center, a place in a shelter they trust, so they could get a better life.

3. Strength But most people who are chronically homeless will fail at their first attempts to improve their life. Some are out of practice, some are unlucky, some are too sensitive to disrespect, some have mental health issues and some have physical health issues. It will require inner strength for them to try again. Some have it, and some don’t.

4. Progress One step leads to another, even if there are missteps. Entering into treatment sometimes leads to housing and outpatient treatment and possibly a job. Entering a wet village can later lead to living in a less chaotic dry village, which can lead to a job and permanent housing. Entering into a shelter can lead to a part time job and then a full time job and housing. No one’s path is the same. And the first step of progress can, with strength, lead to the next one.

My point is, everyone is worthy. People are worthy. The person you see as a worthless drug addict on the corner is worthy, and we can have hope for her even if she does not have hope for herself. A wino doesn’t have to live that way. But they will unless two things happen. Someone gives them respect. And someone gives them a chance.

Blaming the Poor for Poverty

This is an article I wrote for Leader Magazine, an MCUSA publication:

As we are driving down the road, we approach Tom. He is on the street corner, holding a sign, which says “Homeless. Anything helps.” He looks dirty and disheveled. His face is sad and tired. Just as pity rises in our hearts we think, “But what made him homeless? What keeps him homeless?” And the first thought we come up with is addiction.

Now we see Tom in a different light. We look for indications of alcoholism or drug use, as if we could see into his soul and see a black patch of wickedness. Somehow, we shake off this idea. We remember that we don’t have the right to judge another human being. So we take a bold move. We decide to park and talk to Tom.

“Do I drink?” Tom chuckles at the question. “Well, sure. I drink a 40 ouncer every night so I can get to sleep. Overnight, when it’s so cold that it creeps into your bones you need something. Some nights, I just sit up wondering who is going to approach me. The police might come with their dogs. I’ve had friends attacked by strangers in the middle of the night. I realize that it isn’t likely for these things to happen, but I don’t want to be kept awake by my thoughts. So I drink a beer every night. I can’t afford sleeping pills.” He laughs. “Heck, if I could afford that, I’d probably spend the money on a motel room!”

“Yep,” Tom admits, “some of my other friends drink a lot. And some of them use drugs. But I haven’t met too many folks who came to the street addicted. I can’t blame the ones who turn to it. It’s a hard life. And we spend a lot of our time just on surviving. I suppose they do that stuff so they can forget who they are and where they are. To take some joy in their lives. I don’t like to have my head in a daze, but I can see why they do it.”

In our society, poverty is blameworthy. Rarely is the attitude stated so plainly as by Bill Cunningham, “People are poor in America ... not because they lack money; they're poor because they lack values, morals and ethics.” We certainly don’t agree with Mr. Cunningham. But we know there must be some reason for poverty. And our society all too often blames the poor for their poverty. Thus is the connection between homelessness and addiction born.

The statistics on homelessness and addictions are difficult to pin down, just as most statistics about homelessness. Some say that only thirty percent of the homeless are addicted, others say as many as sixty five percent are (National Coalition for the Homeless). However, the number is far less than a hundred percent. And it is clear that rarely is addiction the cause of homelessness. It is estimated that at least half of the general population of the United States have some kind of addiction issue, so the homeless statistics are probably more than the general population, but not remarkably different.

To paraphrase James 2:2-4, if we look down upon the homeless, assuming their immorality, but we welcome the housed and middle class with open arms, have we not made false distinctions and become judges with impure motives? Our task is to welcome all like Jesus. Our task is to love our neighbor, providing what help we can.

This does not mean we should act foolishly. When I pass someone like Tom, I keep in mind that my pity wants to give him money, but perhaps money isn’t always the best thing to give him. I’d have to know him better to know for certain. But this doesn’t mean I can’t love when I see my neighbor or fellow Jesus follower holding a sign. I carry breakfast bars or pairs of socks in my vehicle so I can give him something he could use now.

There is always a way to help if we set aside thoughts of blame. “Blessed is he who makes plans for the poor…” Psalm 41:1

Discussion on Diver

Posted by el cubano on December 12, 2008 at 1:11 PM

I just wanted to share something- while this might be hard to talk about, I wanted to ensure that it's not impossible. I'm 25 years old and I'm a year away from graduating at PSU- when I was younger, I had an addiction to drugs that lasted a few years and was homeless for a while as well- couch-surfing and whatnot if not sleeping out of my own car while I was trying to get a job that would scrounge up enough money to be able to afford rent in the L.A. area.

I was lucky enough that I had some family support, although I had to move all the way across the country to Miami to be there to get it. I had heart palpitations and was having all sorts of health issues, including trying to quit smoking to be completely clean. While I'm certainly not perfect now, I've definitely turned my life around and I know that I can stay clean, healthy, and happy- but the will definitely has to lie with the individual and they absolutely, positively have to leave whatever life they had behind in order to move on to a better one.

It's a shame, but it doesn't look like Diver has gotten the support he's needed to be able to do that, since he apparently felt a connection to those people in Gresham in that lifestyle again. It hurts to not have family support, and to not have good friends who are willing to help you through those dark times and won't bring you down. I hope he can pull it together and make it, and as for you Sarah- believe me, it's possible!

Posted by Steve Kimes:

Sarah, first of all, I really want to thank you for your article, and for your update of Diver here. It must be hard to correct a good story, even if you didn't write anything wrong. Ankles and I give you an honorary "breakfast pie" piece for your excellent effort.

But also to respond to El Cubano above. Diver has all the support he wants, if he wants it. Either from his mother, or from our community, which is a strong family, complete with arguments. We all want him to succeed in being clean and in living a positive life.

But there is another community that pulls at him. A community that encourages him to endulge, not really understanding that it means his death and it cripples him spiritually. And he's lived in that community for as long as you, El, have been alive. It's hard to surrender a whole life and begin a new one. We who have done it keep going back to the old life until we are really ready to surrender it.

The road to freedom is different for different people. The reasons for addiction are complex and the solutions can be even more complicated. Chronic homelessness is even more complex still. There just isn't a single answer-- sometimes not even for one person.

But I am confident of this. Diver has left before and returned. When it is time, he will return.