According to the authors, because many studies of homeless individuals sample only populations in emergency shelters or on the streets, those that are marginally or temporarily housed may be overlooked. This study sought to address this deficiency by exploring substance abuse patterns in a large sample of veterans seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, CA. Findings indicate that with decreasing housing stability, alcohol use increases and heroin use declines. In contrast, cocaine use rates among patients who were marginally and permanently housed were similar but much lower than rates among those living in the streets or shelters (authors).
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