My understanding of addiction, based on what I’ve learned from friends who are long-timers in AA, is that the underlying emotion with alcoholism is shame. But I imagine that shame does lead to hopelessness for many people.

The problem I see with the lack of treatment here is that when people finally ask for help (and they do, I actually got a text from a friend last night who needs rehab), there is often none immediately available. And too often, we’ve been able to get homeless friends into detox, only to find that there’s no next step. Treatment programs are usually full, so they finish a few days’ detox and then go back to the woods, or back under the bridge. That leaves them less likely to try rehab again. And honestly, it’s a big waste of taxpayer dollars.

We need better solutions. Housing the homeless is the best solution. Then people can do treatment, including 12-step (which is free and effective!) as they’re ready. Housing homeless people is also less expensive to the taxpayer than paying the public costs of homelessness. I know you know all this, Kathy, but hopefully, others are reading these comments, as well.

Thanks for all that you to help the homeless in Greensboro.

You make some good points. There is a lack of residential facilities for both substance abuse and mental illness. It is hard to see the unmedicated schizophrenics wander about and know that if only there were a place they could stay that would help them with counseling and medication then they could rejoin and re-engage.

I’m not so sure that everyone who drinks to be drunk wants to get into rehab. Some of the folks I have met have been quite resistant to the idea (but I think it is more of a rejection of “being told what to do” in rehab than to rehab itself). So I don’t know that the “drunk” problem would evaporate with more available rehab slots (but it would improve).

My opinion is that the “drunk” problem is more related to hopelessness than anything else. That, and a desire to not have to deal with whatever is causing the hopelessness.

I so wish I knew how to put hope in a bottle and pass it out. That would be worth a hundred rehab slots.

Great story. Well written. Thanks so much for sharing it.

Kathy