Story-telling | Project Research: Homelessness and Alcohol Abuse

I took a closer look at alcoholism and homelessness so that I could focus on some real-life scenarios to draw inspiration from.  This article from alcoholrehab.com expresses that homelessness and alcohol/substance abuse do not cause one or the other, but there is a trend in homelessness leading to addiction as a method of coping with their situation.  The article also highlights the bitterness toward the homeless by society – I wanted to challenge this taboo by allowing the audience to sympathise with Derek, but also make us aware that this taboo still exists through other characters’ interactions with him because he is a homeless alcoholic.  Relationship breakdown and personal tragedy are listed in the article as potential factors which may lead to homelessness, which relates to both Angela and Derek in my screenplay – Derek is further down the path of losing his lover than Angela is, and homelessness and alcoholism are the extremes he has fallen to as a result of this, whilst Angela is also an alcoholic for the same reason.  The article also emphasises that about 38% of homeless people in the US abuse alcohol, and suggests that people may turn to addictive substances, such as alcohol, to cope with being homeless, and in a similar vein, many may have ended up in this situation as a result of addiction.

Leading on from this, an article published by Crisis, the homelessness charity, claims that over a third of deaths of homeless people are a result drug and alcohol abuse.  Another article by the National Coalition for the Homeless claims that “two thirds of homeless people report that drugs and/or alcohol were a major reason for their becoming homeless”, suggesting the link between homelessness and alcoholism is a very prevalent issue.

Bibliography:

(2011) Homelessness and substance abuse. Available at: http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/homelessness-and-substance-abuse/ (Accessed: 15^th October 2016).

NCH (2009) National coalition for the homeless substance abuse and homelessness. Available at: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/addiction.pdf (Accessed: 15th October 2016).

Homelessness: A silent killer A research briefing on mortality amongst homeless people (2011) Available at: http://www.crisis.org.uk/data/files/publications/Homelessness%20-%20a%20silent%20killer.pdf (Accessed: 15^th October 2016)