Opioid use and homelessness have reached crisis levels in recent years. A drastic increase has been observed in both of these problems; in 2014, nearly 2.5 million opioid use disorder cases were recorded. More than half a million people were homeless on a single night in January 2019, and only 63% among them were able to find shelter, while the remaining had none.
It makes sense that people often conflate the two crises, since many people suffer from both of them at the same time. But saying that they are the same thing as one another would be doing a disservice to each; you can't solve one by fixing the other. Homelessness has affected an unprecedented number of people on a national scale. Though efforts are being made to correct it, Washington still has a severe problem even after decades of restructuring policies amid shifting priorities.
Eliminating homelessness must be prioritized before we can begin to work on tackling opioid addiction. Housing instability contributes to widespread public health problems including infectious diseases which run rampant among people who lack access to clean water and sanitation. When you combine unhygienic environments with inability to access proper medical services, it also means that people are less likely to be diagnosed with health conditions in time for effective treatment to be possible.
The reality of Washington's growing homeless population can be easily observed in Seattle, the state's largest city. Among #homeless people, youths are especially likely to suffer from psychological complications such as anxiety, behavioral disorders, and depression. Homelessness is also associated with a noticeable surge in crime. Many people facing desperate times are drawn to the world of crime, and their homeless status makes them more vulnerable to finding themselves victims of crime. It is really no wonder that many homeless individuals turn to drugs as they attempt to cope with an unbearable level of stress.
Countering homelessness is crucial because it incurs an adverse impact on society. An estimated 11.6% of the U.S population was living in poverty according to the 2021 Federal Census. People in this category struggle to fulfill the basic requirements of life. Millions of people are suffering a severe housing cost burden and spend more than 50% of their earnings on housing. Homeless shelters, transitional housing, and medical outreach services are not being created fast enough to meet the demands.
Our healthcare system and administration, along with the organizations working for homeless people, must work together to provide safe housing to create a better life for homeless people. The government needs to focus their energies on finding a way to decrease homelessness first, or any efforts to take on opioid use will be in vain.
