“Understanding & Caring for Those Suffering from and Affected by Substance Abuse: The Faith Community — A Part of the Solution” (22-page PDF of PowerPoint in outline format)
Presentation by Paul Nagy, LPC, LCAS, CCS, Duke Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, to faith community leaders and service providers, on June 1, 2006 at Grace Community Church in Greensboro, N.C.
Good article about homeless services in Burlington, N.C.:
“…at Alamance Rescue Mission, a faith-based ministry serving 34 homeless men, they have strict rules about drugs.
Many of the men who live and work at the mission are former drug addicts and felons, Jones said. They leave when they feel ready to rejoin society. Some have stayed as long as two years at the facility.
Things are different at the Allied Churches shelter where there is a three-month maximum stay to ensure people are making their way to stability.
Since Faucette started, the number of homeless people bounces from as many as 70 people a night — including 22 children on a recent day — to the 20s.”
>> Read “In the Blink of An Eye,” from the Burlington Times.
“John Rush was not disruptive, intoxicated or unclean, but he was spending the better part of his days at the Hyannis Public Library. That ended when the security guard asked him to leave June 20.
Rush complained to the Barnstable Town Council the next night, describing the library’s policy to remove people who are not doing anything as disruptive, discriminatory and inhumane.
Library and security staff responded with a gritty blow-by-blow of their more than 20-year history with the Hyannis street population. The head librarian, who has worked at the facility for 35 years, described death threats from deranged patrons, fights, assaults, and sex in the bathroom.
‘The library does become a day center if you let it go,’ said Ann-Louise Harries, head librarian.
Dealing with mentally ill, intoxicated or otherwise disruptive patrons is a task they don’t teach you in librarian school. But it’s part of the job in places like Hyannis that are located within walking distance of shelters, halfway houses and human service organizations.”
>> Continue reading “At Hyannis library, confronting homeless is part of job”.
Similarly, Greensboro’s downtown library is used as a de facto day center by some of our homeless friends. It’s a place to escape the heat, the cold, and the wet weather of unsheltered street life.
The upholstered chairs and couches in the spacious sunroom are a comfortable place to rest and read — but sleeping is not allowed. The large, clean bathrooms are among the few public restrooms available to homeless people in the downtown area. The computers, both upstairs and down, are a popular spot for our homeless friends, many of whom have email accounts. At least one of my homeless friends has a MySpace page, too. (It doesn’t mention that he’s homeless, so I’ve chosen not to link to it.) And on Monday evenings, Food Not Bombs serves a meal for the homeless outside the library.
I know that library staff have had issues with homeless people over the years, and that’s to be expected. Many of these are chronically homeless folks, most (maybe all) of whom struggle with issues such as addiction and/or serious mental illness. I hope we get a day center here soon — a place that is designed for the unique needs of the chronically homeless. But in the meantime, I greatly appreciate the library employees who’ve shown love and compassion to our homeless friends who hang out at the library because they’ve literally nowhere else to go.
Thanks to Jackie (13th juror) for the link to the Cape Cod article.
Cardwell C. Nuckols, Ph.D. speaks to treatment providers about crack cocaine, crack addiction, and crack addicts. Nuckols gives a compelling and thought-provoking look through the perspective of the crack addict.
There are audio gaps in a few places (present in the original recording) and the recording ends a few moments before Nuckols’ talk did. Those flaws aside, this audio recording is an excellent resource for revealing truth about crack cocaine and crack addiction.
Click arrow below to hear recording.
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>> Related: “The 7 Stages of Crack Cocaine Use”
There’s a strong connection between crack cocaine and homelessness in Greensboro. But few people are talking about it. Crack is still an epidemic, more than 20 years after it hit our town. And it won’t be long until methamphetamine (aka “meth”) is the next big thing that sends people to our streets — addicted and homeless.
I spoke with a member of law enforcement who is familiar with our local situation:
* * * * * * * * *
How bad is the meth problem in our area?
“Bad. And getting worse.”
Has meth become a big problem with homeless people on the street?
“No, but it’s coming.”
Are we winning the war on crack?
[Laughs. Loud and hard.] “We’re not even close to touching it.”
How does meth compare to crack?
“Meth is worse. It’s cheaper and more addictive. It’s cheaper because it takes a smaller amount to get high and get addicted. And once you take it, you’re up for two to three days straight… You can do the ‘Nazi method’ and make a batch of meth in your bathroom sink for $30.00.”
How much does crack cost?
“$20.00 for a rock.”
How long does that last?
“Depends on the person. The high lasts 5-30 minutes.”
How do homeless people use crack on the street?
“Mostly smoke it.”
How would they use meth?
“Snort it, smoke it, inject it.”
When do you think meth will become a big problem among homeless people on the street?
“Within five years. There’s probably some now, but I’d say within five years it’ll be widespread.”
What connection is there between gangs and crack and meth?
“As gangs get more organized, the drug problem will get worse.”