Let’s start off with respecting that we all have jobs to do. And all our different agencies are doing their job as best they are able, hopefully. When law enforcement announced recruiting assistants with psycho-therapeutic backgrounds, it was well received. Our HADs (homeless addiction disorders) are eligible for housing due to mental illnesses, like PTSD (F43.12) or severe depression (F33.3). Left untreated or undiagnosed, self-medicating often leads to disorders like AUDs (F20.22) and/or OUDs like (F11.24). Here’s where our “housing first” concept gets super challenging too though, due to comorbidity, their co-occurring conditions.
Over our past dozen years working with this population, we’ve learned how a client-center and harm-reduction approach is imperative to achieving any sort of grounded stability. Discerning how to engage with these community members is a huge undertaking too. Those trained to deal with dangerous criminals are doing their job and we want them home with family after work. We also want social workers, treatment providers, and housing managers to safely return to their homes. Wishing to refrain from pointing fingers or making judgement calls, we care simply to help design a dignified resolve.
That combination, or protocol mentioned above, is how we inform and design such a system, a workable approach that addresses our homelessness and lethal overdosing. Using a client-centered harm-reduction blueprint will also minimize criminal acting out behaviors – thievery and assault. Placing their differing profiles under the same roof though, especially in the same room, is bad juju. May as well park a cruiser out front. This being the month for witches’ brews, casting spells, and spooky entertainment, figured we’d finish in good space!