Recovering addicts here in San Francisco will tell you first hand there is a direct correlation between homelessness and substance abuse. Local ex-homeless/ex-addicts will attest that 8 out of every 10 people on the street are struggling with addiction. Over 75% of unsheltered have a drug or alcohol addiction and a similar number have a severe mental health disorder. So why are we constantly marketed the idea that this is primarily a poverty problem and housing is the solution? You can build all the housing in the world and get homeless off the street so you don’t have to look at us, but if we are struggling with drug addiction and mental illness, we're just housed dealing with drug addiction and mental illness. In 2020, the death rate among San Francisco homeless doubled. They condone this behavior and even help promote it with harm reduction policies that blur the line between harm reduction and drug promotion. Caroline Shores Thrush is back and we’re giving you a recovering addict’s perspective on the “compassionate” policies she witnessed while working in the non-profit sector with transitional housing here in San Francisco.