Alcohol and other drug problems among the homeless: Research, practice, and future directions

Abstract
At least 50 percent of America's homeless people have significant current problems with alcohol and other drugs. These problems are important risk factors in the selection of the undomiciled from the larger population of extremely poor people. This paper reviews what is known about homeless people with alcohol and other drug problems; assesses the relationship between such individual problems and the larger phenomenon of homelessness; and describes selected aspects of projects funded through the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism/National Institute on Drug Abuse Demonstration Program for Homeless Persons with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. It concludes with observations about future directions for research and practice.