Quote:
Originally posted by Willie_Bobo
a guy wrote earlier that he worked with the homeless and traced a large percentage of the problems to drug and alcohol abuse.... and then goes on to state, refering to the issue of stopping the usage; "they are simply not willing to do that". Unfortunately, because true alcoholism is a disease (accepted by the Amer Med Assoc and Amer Psych Assoc et. al.) it is sort of like asking a diabetic to stop having the disease. A disease, by the way, that cam be arrested and treated (to some degree) by changing diet....which, for many "they are simply not willing to do that". The difference, of course, is that most diabetics don't kill people from drunk driving or beat their wifes etc (although diabetic shock does cause accidents and diabetes is fast becoming a HUGE drain on the insurance system). Most people can have a few drinks and stop which, I believe, contributes to the misunderstanding about the disease of alcoholism. What I don't fully understand is the need to look down on people... especially sick people. vs feel grateful for NOT being sick, lazy, or many of the things stated in this thread.
yes, you are correct, addiction/alcoholism is a disease, and like all diseases it can be treated in one way or another. healing, in the case of an addict, does not begin until a decision is made by the addict to do something about it and seek help. as i stated, there are countless programs to help the homeless deal with their addiction, get off the street and re-establish themselves. if you had compared the mental illness aspect of the homeless, ie - bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, to diabetes i could agree with you. mentally ill people have no control over their mental status and emotions if they are not medicated, much the same way a diabetic who doesn't take their insulin or manage their glucose levels will go into diabetic shock. but addiction? yes, people with addiction can be predisposed to it based on family history and other factors, but that doesn't mean that they HAVE to become an addict and are incpapble of making decisions to booze or get high, as well as making a decision to get help. You also state that diabetes has a huge drain on the insurance system. Again, you are correct. I am a paramedic in a major u.s. city and in a typical shift (17-25 runs in a 24 hour shift) i will see as many homeless people as i do diabetics. I can tell you that our treatment protocal for both are initially similiar, since they both are having an altered mental status. i pick the diabetics up at home, at work, at social destinations, trains, planes, and automobiles, you name it. we check their blood glucose, it's low, we start the i.v., give them glucose, and in seconds they are back to a normal mental status, and are most of the time very pleasant people, even though sometimes when their sugar is low they may initially fight us. sometimes we transport them to a hospital, sometimes we don't. for the homeless person, they are usually sleeping on a sidewalk, an alley, a park, or the gardens and lawns of peoples homes. we check their blood sugar, it's normal, we wake them up, they reek of booze, feces, and urine. they often become violent with us because we woke them up, they try to punch us and scratch us, they spit on us, i know medics who have had homeless people try to stab them with dirty hyperdermic needles. they are drunk, so we have to transport them to a hospital. so you talk about diabetes being a drain on insurance companies, who do you think flips the bill for the homeless persons transport to a hospital, or their stay at the hospital while they sober up? the taxpayer flips the bill. we have some homeless that we pick up like this every single shift. how much do you think that adds up to? anyways, i'm getting off point, which is this, many homeless people have the decision making capacity to seek help and improve their lives, regardless of their addiction. you also implied that i am "looking down" at homeless people and addicts. just because i feel they have the ability to help themselves does not mean i am unsympathetic.
* This post has been modified
: 19 years ago
