Psyche logo

Addiction & the Homeless

How Being Homeless Isn't 'Easy'

By Alyse McDonaldPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Like

I recently watched a video on YouTube of a man living in Vancouver BC, which is my home town.

Before the man made this video, he believed that homeless people have it easy. They don't pay rent because they can find places to stay for free. They don't buy food because there are places for them to go to get it..

So he made a documentary about being homeless in the downtown east side of Vancouver. Not only did he interview people, but he too became homeless.

For 30 days, this man left his home, his life, and his job and went to live on the streets to see what it was like to be homeless. His brother came along with him to film it, but other than that, he was alone.

What he discovered is truly moving. He discovered that living life on the streets is NOT AT ALL what he thought.

Just because homeless people have access to shelter, food, and injection sites doesn't mean that their lives are easier. They may not have jobs, but they have to work to get those beds, that food, and those drugs; because most, if not all, homeless people do some sort of drugs.

I knew that being homeless didn't seem at all appealing because you are never guaranteed to get a bed in those shelters or you may not find a dry, warm place to sleep. And I knew that there was a lot of drinking and drug use, but I did not know some of the things I learned from watching this video.

It is so inspiring to see what this man did to show what it's like to be homeless. He even went as far as doing drugs to get the full experience. He went to In Site, which is a safe injection site in Vancouver. Now, the people who work there don't give you the drugs; you have to supply your own. I always thought these addicts went in there, shot up, and left. But they actually have employees who help "assist" you if you are there for the first time or if you need it. They can't actually administer the drugs, but they show you how to do it safe and correctly.

This man shot up heroin for the first time and he also smoked crack. The heroin was the last drug he did and his brother warned him not to because he was afraid he'd become addicted. But he had to do it to actually get the whole "homeless experience."

It is crazy how it affected him and after 25 days, he went home. After doing heroin, he was done. It made him so screwed up and sick.

It definitely gives you insight and is so eye opening to the world of homelessness and addiction, because the two fall hand-in-hand. The addiction is what helps them cope.

In this day and age where drugs are not only dangerous, but lethal, this video gives you the whole picture of what these people go through. Some chose this life, some didn't. Regardless, it's sad to see these people poisoning their bodies to "live."

In Surrey BC, about a 60-minute drive outside of Vancouver, the City of Surrey built small homes in modular type buildings to give the homeless people in Surrey a place to live. There are, of course, rules and restrictions, but these people who choose to live there aren't fighting to find a place to sleep.

The documentary is definitely worth a watch. Here is the direct link to the YouTube video.

This is a great video to show your children who are mature enough to watch. It will give them a clear picture of where they could end up if they choose to do drugs. Not everyone is lucky enough to have family to try and help take care of them; some people have no choice but to live on the streets.

Let's educate our current and future teens and children better understand the power drugs have on our lives and the eye opening truth about homelessness and addiction.

Please show some love if you enjoyed this story.

addiction
Like

About the Creator

Alyse McDonald

Hello! Welcome to my Vocal Blog! Thanks for stopping by!

M

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.