The chaos of living outside, she said — marked by violence, sexual assault, sleeplessness, and lack of housing and health care — can make it nearly impossible to get sober.
This is my point when it comes to people who wonder why homeless people can’t just “stop using drugs, tobacco and alcohol”.
I challenge anyone who thinks that to try being outside for a week, with one set of clothes, sleeping on benches, and trying to find food supports and shelter without a phone. And then tell us to our face how easy it is to do without drugs.
I used to know three homeless people whom I used to talk to on my way home from work. I gave them cash, bought them food. I have no idea if they are still alive today. I know of at least seven more whom I occasionally keep in touch with. And some more who have been homeless previously, but who have survived that through various feats and means and landed on their feet again. Sleeping rough in Sweden, above Skåne, is fucking rough.
Out of my limited and anecdotal experience, I don’t blame a single one of them for getting hooked on drugs. Alcohol got too expensive, tobacco is waaaay too expensive for effect, so the high and low that other drugs could give kept them warm throughout the roughest nights and/or John experiences.
