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Hello, my name is Jake. I am a Dual Enrollment student at the College of Coastal Georgia. Today I will be talking about the Marginalization of Homeless People, in particular those who abuse drugs. To begin, I’m going to lay out the basics. What is a homeless person? Well, researchers Moneik Coumans and Marinus Spreen, professors at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, define homeless people as “...those who do not have at their disposal or don’t make use in the long term of private and regular housing or residential housing… and those who spend the night on the streets, in parks, porches, and public places that offer shelter against cold and wind, and depending on the local regulation, a limited amount of nights in night shelter facilities” (Coumans and Spreen 314). Ines Testoni, a Professor (Associate) at the University of Padova, defines homelessness as "individuals living in the streets without a shelter because are unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, more so when they do not have a lawful access to buildings in which to sleep." I find Ines Testoni's definition to be more broad and easy to read. How many homeless people abuse drugs? Out of 389 participants in an interview conducted by Jane Fountain, a Distinguished University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, she observes that over 82% of the 389 participants had used a drug in the month before the interview (Fountain et al. 248).
Hello, my name is Jake. I am a Dual Enrollment student at the College of Coastal Georgia. Today I will be talking about the Marginalization of Homeless People, in particular those who abuse drugs. To begin, I’m going to lay out the basics. What is a homeless person? Well, researchers Moneik Coumans and Marinus Spreen, professors at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, define homeless people as “...those who do not have at their disposal or don’t make use in the long term of private and regular housing or residential housing… and those who spend the night on the streets, in parks, porches, and public places that offer shelter against cold and wind, and depending on the local regulation, a limited amount of nights in night shelter facilities” (Coumans and Spreen 314). Ines Testoni, a Professor (Associate) at the University of Padova, defines homelessness as "individuals living in the streets without a shelter because are unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, more so when they do not have a lawful access to buildings in which to sleep." I find Ines Testoni's definition to be more broad and easy to read. How many homeless people abuse drugs? Out of 389 participants in an interview conducted by Jane Fountain, a Distinguished University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, she observes that over 82% of the 389 participants had used a drug in the month before the interview (Fountain et al. 248).
However, there have been many studies done about my topic, and some of the researchers have differing viewpoints, along with varying statistics. An example of this would be the article by Jane Fountain, compared with an article by Michelle Grinman et al. Michelle Grinman is a specialist in General Internal Medicine. Her study in the article "Drug problems among homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada: prevalence, drugs of choice, and relation to health status" consisted of 603 single men, 304 single women, and 284 adults with dependent children. Grinman affirms that only 40% of the 1,191 participants had drug problems in the last thirty days (Grinman et al. 1) Compared to the Fountain article, that is about a 42% decrease in those who had drug problems within the last month. The interesting thing though is that all of the articles determine that substance abuse has an almost or direct tie to homelessness. Another article that was written by Dennis McCarty, a Professor in the Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, asserts that “Credible estimates of the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse suggest that alcohol abuse affects 30% to 40% and drug abuse 0% to 15% of homeless persons” (McCarty et al. 1139). This article is comparable with the Grinman article that had a roughly 40% use in the last 30 days and contrasts once again with the Fountain article that had an 82% majority of people living on the streets who had consumed or used substances recently.
However, there have been many studies done about my topic, and some of the researchers have differing viewpoints, along with varying statistics. An example of this would be the article by Jane Fountain, compared with an article by Michelle Grinman et al. Michelle Grinman is a specialist in General Internal Medicine. Her study in the article "Drug problems among homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada: prevalence, drugs of choice, and relation to health status" consisted of 603 single men, 304 single women, and 284 adults with dependent children. Grinman affirms that only 40% of the 1,191 participants had drug problems in the last thirty days (Grinman et al. 1) Compared to the Fountain article, that is about a 42% decrease in those who had drug problems within the last month. The interesting thing though is that all of the articles determine that substance abuse has an almost or direct tie to homelessness. Another article that was written by Dennis McCarty, a Professor in the Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, asserts that “Credible estimates of the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse suggest that alcohol abuse affects 30% to 40% and drug abuse 0% to 15% of homeless persons” (McCarty et al. 1139). This article is comparable with the Grinman article that had a roughly 40% use in the last 30 days and contrasts once again with the Fountain article that had an 82% majority of people living on the streets who had consumed or used substances recently.
It is quite sad that these people have to resort to abusing substances to escape from the harsh reality they live in. In an article by Joanne Neale and Kennedy Catherine, Joanne Neale, a Professor of Public Health at Oxford Brooke's University, declares that “Exact information about how many people are both homeless and drug-dependent is not available” (Kennedy and Neale 196). Due to the lack of information, more research needs to be done on finding a more conclusive number of drug-dependent homeless people.. If there was a more conclusive number, there would be a reduced amount of studies being conducted on the same topic worldwide. Lastly, this topic is important because most people are not aware of the statistics regarding AOD use among the homeless population.
It is quite sad that these people have to resort to abusing substances to escape from the harsh reality they live in. In an article by Joanne Neale and Kennedy Catherine, Joanne Neale, a Professor of Public Health at Oxford Brooke's University, declares that “Exact information about how many people are both homeless and drug-dependent is not available” (Kennedy and Neale 196). Due to the lack of information, more research needs to be done on finding a more conclusive number of drug-dependent homeless people.. If there was a more conclusive number, there would be a reduced amount of studies being conducted on the same topic worldwide. Lastly, this topic is important because most people are not aware of the statistics regarding AOD use among the homeless population.
Works Cited
Coumans, Moniek, and Marinus Spreen. “Drug Use and the Role of Homelessness in the Process of Marginalization.” Substance Use & Misuse, vol. 38, no. 3–6, Feb. 2003, pp. 311–338. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1081/JA-120017376.
Fountain, Jane, et al. “Drug and Alcohol Use and the Link with Homelessness: Results from a Survey of Homeless People in London.” Addiction Research & Theory, vol. 11, no. 4, Aug. 2003, pp. 245–256. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/1606635031000135631.
Grinman, Michelle N., et al. “Drug Problems among Homeless Individuals in Toronto, Canada: Prevalence, Drugs of Choice, and Relation to Health Status.” BMC Public Health, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 94–100. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-94.
Kennedy, Catherine. “Good Practice towards Homeless Drug Users: Research Evidence from Scotland.” Health & Social Care in the Community, vol. 10, no. 3, May 2002, pp. 196–205. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2524.2002.00357.x.
McCarty, Dennis, and Others. “Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, and the Homeless.” American Psychologist, vol. 46, no. 11, Jan. 1991, pp. 1139–1148. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=eric&AN=EJ437033&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Testoni, Ines, et al. “Addiction and Religiosity in Facing Suicide: A Qualitative Study on Meaning of Life and Death among Homeless People.” Mental Illness (2036-7457), vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 16–24. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4081/mi.2018.7420.
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