Re: drug abuse among the homeless

Adam Meadows wrote:
> How do we help these people?  

Personally I think the retired nurse quoted in the story
was right.  Real rehab, even if it's nothing more than a
place that these people can go to remind themselves that
they don't have to "f--k up".

I was struck by the ambition of Little Bit Susan to get
off drugs "someday".  The fact that most of these people
would relapse afterwards wouldn't detract from the fact
that any time they spent in a program would be time with
a roof over their head, 3 square meals a day, and at least
a shred of hope that they might get back on their feet
someday.

Drugs clearly aren't the only reason why those people are
there on that island, but it's a big enough part of the
puzzle to convince me that drug abuse issues don't just
go away if the drugs abused are legal (i.e.- the death
of Randy, the wheelchair-bound alcoholic).

--
Brother Nate               Electron Juggler
[EMAIL PROTECTED]     http://php.indiana.edu/~nengle
"Some Assembly Required"