RESPONSE: to “Clean and Sober”
By David Shadrick
Introduction
Hello, my name is Reverend David Shadrick but I’d appreciate it if you would just call me Dave. I run a small non-profit called Street Level Resources. I would like to respond to Jennifer’s Troy’s two recent articles; “Homeless Helping Homeless” and her follow-up article, “Clean and Sober.”
For Education
Education is my goal, not conflict. Most people understand that a large part of the homeless population are mentally ill, or are alcoholics or drug addicts, or all three. The reality of homelessness is that 85% of the chronically homeless are mentally ill. “Chronically homeless” is a category that describes people who are homeless in excess of one year.
Who Are We Talking About?
I’m not sure how the homeless participants for the Kenton Women’s Village were selected. Did the project contain only handpicked people who complied with certain prerequisites? Were they required to be clean and sober? Were they on prescribed anti-psychotic medications? The reason I ask is because Jennifer’s results are very good when the demographic for the homeless is applied. One to two participants out of such a group of 14 is good.
