I know this question is odd, but unfortunately we have a lot of unhoused addicted people in my city. I often see them sitting on a bench bent at the waist in half like a rag doll, or standing somewhere half bent over, like stooped over nodding out I guess? I don’t really know anything about substance use, but it’s such a strange sight, what substances cause them to bend over like this?
Poor souls. The mayors of big cities here have asked the provincial government to declare a state of emergency due to homelessness and addiction being so rampant, but Doug Ford doesn’t give a shit about them.
I don’t know about other cities, but here in San Francisco it is mostly treated as a public health issue. Users are not arrested or penalized. There are many treatment centers, shelters, clean injection sites etc. The help and support is definitely available but the public nuisance definitely does not just drop right off.
The problem that I see here is that there are people who are just too far gone to help due to the destruction Fentanyl causes. They will likely require fulltime care or stwardship for the rest of their lives. Many outright just refuse any help. Many go right back to using again after treatment because it’s all they know. I’ve spoken with a few that straight up told me they don’t care if they die doing this. While sad, it is their right to slowly kill themselves if they want I guess, but meanwhile they’re sprawled out on the sidewalk covered in their own diarrhea with everyone one else having to walk in the bike lane to avoid them. Society as a whole is losing here. Since 2023 about 1.5 people are known to die from Fentanyl per day in this city.
San Francisco deals with more than its fair share because people come here from across the country due to the mild climate and many services available, so maybe all of our facilities are just overloaded. Perhaps they are also I’ll equipped to deal with something like this because the physical and mental destruction that Fentanyl causes is just so severe. It’s not like the common drugs of the past.