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Addressing the Problem of Alcoholism and Drug Addition among Homeless Individuals in New Orleans, Louisiana

Alcoholism and drug addiction among homeless individuals happens to be among the major social issues with which the society continues to grapple. According to Sunrise House (2020), over 50% of the persons living in supportive housing interventions or programs possessed either a psychiatric disorder or a substance use disorder, or both. Many individuals without permanent housing suffer from the problem of substance abuse that deters them from securing safe living conditions. As social change agents, human services professionals have a vital role to play when it comes to solving social issues via social change, leadership, and advocacy (Homan, 2016). Therefore, as a human services professional, I believe that I have a significant role to play when it comes to addressing the problem of alcoholism and drug addiction among homeless persons within New Orleans, Louisiana. To address this problem, I intend to work with Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA).

CADA’s operates nationally and its services are extended to parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, St. Charles, and Plaqumines (Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, n.d. a). My preference for this agency is founded on its reputation for working with a range of groups in addressing drugs and substance addiction problem including community, schools, medical professionals, employers, probation officers, lawyers, and judges. As such, this agency will provide me with a pool of professionals with whom I can cooperate to address the problem of drug addiction and alcoholism among homeless people in Louisiana. Moreover, CADA offers resources to the community when it comes to addressing substance abuse and provides information on local facilities for treatment, as well as how these services can be accessed (Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, n.d.b). It is significant to note that the agency’s provides prevention, early intervention, and case management programs for persons suffering from substance abuse. Thus, this organizations will enable be in a suitable position to provide resources needed to solve the alcohol and substance addiction issue among homeless persons. As such, working with this agency will enable me to help homeless persons at different stages alcohol and drug addiction to address their problems.

My strategic plan will be established from the perspective of advocacy. According to Homan (2016), advocacy enables human services professionals to fight for others’ rights and work to acquire needed or necessary resources by convincing other individuals of the legitimate rights or needs of societal members. Thus, by embracing this perspective in my plan, I will manage to convince Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health’s management to allocate extra resources towards addressing stigma on persons with mental illness.