Homelessness and Substance Abuse: Which Comes First?

Abstract

The present paper uses a social selection and social adaptation framework to investigate whether problematic substance use normally precedes or follows homelessness. Clarifying temporal order is important for policy and program design. The paper uses information from a large dataset (n=4,291) gathered at two services in Melbourne, supplemented by 65 indepth interviews. We found that 43% of the sample had substance abuse problems. Of these people, one-third had substance abuse problems before they became homeless and two-thirds developed these problems after they became homeless. We also found that young people were more at risk of developing substance abuse problems after becoming homeless than older people and that most people with substance abuse issues remain homeless for 12 months or longer. The paper concludes with three policy recommendations.

Abstract

Keywords:

• Homelessness
• Substance Abuse
• Housing And Support

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the homeless people interviewed for the present study. The authors also thank the staff at the Salvation Army Crisis Services (St Kilda, Vic., Australia) and HomeGround Services for their assistance. Thanks also to the anonymous referees. Financial support for the research came from an Australian Research Council grant (LP0560760).

Notes

¹Names and extraneous details have been changed to preserve anonymity.