Web Improvements for Toronto Drug Rehab Centres Announced by Sunshine …
With Toronto being the largest city in Canada, it has understandably one of the largest populations of people seeking drug rehab and treatment services. Finding local treatment options is a good option for some; for others, travel to a more private …
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Funding cuts to drug treatment centers mean addicts get turned away
Over the past 13 years, the state has transferred treatment to the private sector. Now there are about 2,500 private facilities in the state that use donations, and federal and state money to provide detox, or medical treatments that remove drugs from …
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A fresh look at Drug Rehabilitation Court
In my 22 years at the Aurora Police Department, I have had a front row seat to the devastation and destruction that befalls individuals who have addictions. Drug abuse can cause once law-abiding citizens to turn to criminal activity in order to support …
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Khloe Kardashian & Kris Jenner's Feud Over Lamar Odom Drug Addiction
But for once, Khloe wants to keep the details of her private life, well … private, and we totally get it! Unfortunately her momager, Kris, isn't quite so understanding, … She didn't even know he went to rehab! “He just can't deal with all the …
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PPACA may steer 40 million to drug, alcohol programs
The other day it was 37 million — the number of people a Stanford Medical School study suggested might bolt their employer health plan for exchange coverage. Now, we hearing that 40 million folks may enter drug and/or alcohol rehab programs once the …
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Valiant Recovery Introduces Executive Program to Its Rehabilitation Center
COM) Kelowna, British Colombia – Alcohol and drug treatment center Valiant Recovery recently announced its new program to help executives or other people in positions of power to overcome addiction. The program is designed to specifically address how …
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Bangor conference sheds light on drug, alcohol addiction treatment differences …
BANGOR, Maine — When it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, there are differences between men and women, and that means treatment programs need to be different, local substance abuse providers learned Friday at a conference about addiction and …
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Malibu, California-based Adolescent Drug Rehab Treatment Center, Paradigm …
As a therapist for Paradigm Malibu, Lisa focuses on her model for getting teen and adolescents into balance. She works with her patients on recognizing who they are as individuals. She compels them to look inside and find the winner within. Lisa helps …
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Kauai may build adolescent drug treatment center
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) – Kauai County Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. says he plans to select a site for a proposed residential adolescent drug treatment center by the end of the year. A recent study conducted for the county recommended Kauai build a center …
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Question by Emma: what are some ways to reduce homelessness?
i am writing a proposal on homelessness in richmond va. I am looking for some ways in which we could reduce or eliminate the homeless.

So far i can only think of 2 which are affordable housing and increase in employment rate.

i need two more ways of which we could potentially reduce the amount of homeless or eliminate it altogether

any suggestions would be helpful

Best answer:

Answer by rec4lms
I think that the first issue for you to tackle is to determine why they are homeless.

The issues that I deal with find that a significant percent of the homeless have mental health issues. The second issue (not as large as mental health issues in my experience) is that many people have issues with alcohol or drug abuse. (Many people can function while abusing alcohol/drugs but many can not.) The third issue is that people have no jobs, no money, no credit, and no resources to turn to when they are down and out.

The USA does a horrible job in dealing with mental health issues, with most of the mental health hospitals being defunded or closed. Unfortunately the response the government has taken is to wait for them to commit a crime and then incarcerate them. Thus, determine how many mental health facilities are in the Richmond area that help those who can not afford treatment. (The only place we use is Central State in Petersburg.) Also note that those with mental illness can not be compelled to take their medications without a court order. And I’ve never seen the court order someone to take medication unless they are incarcerated and need to be up for trial.

Alchohol and drug abuse is a completely different problem to deal with. It may be recreational, it may be escapist, or it may be addiction. Some will respond to treatment, especially if they want treatment. However, they have to want to improve. To paraphrase one person that I worked with, when they were taking drugs they felt that everything was perfect.

Lack of job/money/resources is both one of the worst situations but also one of the easiest one’s to directly handle. Note that I listed “resources.” A resource is anything that one person can use. This can include friends and family. Religion is also important in this because even though it is often bad mouthed in TV and movies however in reality church members stick together. Affordable housing is a good idea but often politics gets involved in a situation. Several years ago I was earning $ 19,000 a year, which is not very much. My roommates and I got kicked out of an apartment because a new company bought it and made it Section 8. The reasoning we were given was that we earned too much money. A lot of the rules and laws are kind of idiotic and often geared to the lowest common denominator. Try to improve yourself and you don’t get help, but don’t try and you get supported. (There are many who truly do need help because they have hit rock bottom but unfortunately a lot of people take advantage of that safety net.) My neighbor is a great example of this. Her husband passed away and she works three jobs to keep her kids and house. However, she could quit all three jobs and get federal money. There is no tapering off of assistance, either you get assistance or you get nothing and this makes it difficult because the money for assistance is often more than the money you can earn on your own.

So, I give you the following: 1) Improve Psychiatric Care for those who need it.
2) Increase alcohol and drug treatment options.
3) Rework the Section 8, Unemployment Benefits, and the Food Stamp/WIC programs. We can probably go for Medicaid also but I don’t deal with that all that much.

I know, Too Long Didn’t Read. I used to be positive and felt that I could help those that are less fortunate than I am, and that lead to a career into such. However, a lot of troubles have been brought on by their own problems. Sadly, trying to save the world may have made me jaded but I also feel that it has made me realistic: Some people can only help themselves and the current system works against those who are trying to improve their lot in life.

I hope that this helped.

Good luck.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Japanese Drug Maker's Blood Thinner Appears Safer Than Standard Treatment
AMSTERDAM—Results from a highly anticipated study of Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo Co.'s experimental medication to reduce blood clots showed that it appeared to work as well as the current standard treatment—though no better—and is safer.
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Gene Breakthroughs Spark a Revolution in Cancer Treatment
The newfound variants have led major cancer centers to revamp their approach to treating cancer and have spurred a rush among drug companies to find medicines that narrowly target each one. The drugs don't cure cancer and face significant hurdles.
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New Diabetes Drugs Don't Raise Heart-Attack Risk
Patients with Type 2 diabetes and a history of, or at risk for, cardiovascular events were randomly given the medicine or a placebo as well as other standard treatment and were followed for two years on average. The other study, called Examine, was a …
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VMA Gift Bags Include Addiction Recovery Book From Lindsay Lohan's Last …
In this year's gift bag, guests will receive a copy of "Ending Addiction for Good: The Ground-Breaking, Holistic, Evidence-Based Way to Transform Your Life," from the people at Cliffside Malibu, which happens to be the last rehab center Lindsay Lohan …
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Addiction centre boss calls for abstinence approach to drug treatment programmes
THE boss of a Burton rehabilitation centre has called on government ministers to honour commitments to move heroin addicts away from methadone treatment programmes. Noreen Oliver, chief executive of Burton Addiction Centre, made the comments after …
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Malibu Beach is fed up with rehab clinics, burned out celebs and the paparazzi …
“It was kind of startling to see.” Bereft of his clothes – and his senses, the visitor could not explain why he was covered in mud, nor where he had been. But when he asked Mr. Cano to help him get to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre down the …
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