ABSTRACT
Homelessness complicates the process of recovery in several ways. For example, homeless individuals have weak social networks in comparison to those in housing. The difficulties of staying sober for the homeless may be as simple as not having a place to sleep for the night, or as complicated as not being able to fill a prescription for a severe medical condition. One guiding question of this research was how, exactly, a homeless individual stays sober. Many people have a simple cure for homelessness: sober up, take a shower, and get a job. The interviews recounted have shown the difficulty of that prescription. The hurdles to becoming sober are complex, overlapping, convoluted and difficult to separate and treat. The day-to-day activities and amenities of which sober housed individuals may avail themselves may be completely non-existent for the homeless; e.g., food, transportation, clothing, social networks, and shelter.
