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Running head: STEP ONE: HOMELESSNESS AND ADDICTION 1

Social Problems and Policies to Explore for the Comprehensive Assignment: Homelessness and

Addiction

Jessica Head

Brescia University

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STEP ONE: HOMELESSNESS AND ADDICTION 2

Social Problems and Policies to Explore for the Comprehensive Assignment: Homelessness and

Addiction

Addiction is a social problem I am very interested in because of my family history. I

thought I would go into addiction social work for my career, but I am now very interested in the

social problem of homelessness as well. I grew up in a small town where homelessness was not

publicly apparent. When I moved to Louisville at the age of eighteen to attend the University of

Louisville, homelessness was apparent in the area. Now, homelessness is a social issue I see in

my daily life as an inhabitant of the city, a volunteer at a day shelter for homeless men, and an

intern at a small agency that provides permanent supportive housing to families and women with

disabilities. My research on addiction led me to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity

Act of 2008. My research on homelessness led me to the HEARTH Act, or Homeless

Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, of 2009. Both are social policies

that have made considerable strides forward in the social problems they strive to address.

My reference page includes one article focused on each of these social problems and the

policies that address them. Dattalo (1991) gives a history of the homeless assistance movement

and related policies in the United States and argues that policies related to assistance for the

homeless should focus more one funding low-income housing as a solution, rather than funding

emergency shelters. Barry and Huskamp (2011) describe new policies for addiction assistance

under the Affordable Care Act as the best next step forward after the Mental Health Parity and

Addiction Equity Act.

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STEP ONE: HOMELESSNESS AND ADDICTION 3

References

Barry, C. L., & Huskamp, H. A. (2011, September 15). Moving beyond parity - Mental health

and addiction care under the ACA.New England Journal of Mediciine, 365(11), 973-975.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1108649

Dattalo, P. (1991, July). Moving beyond emergency shelter: Who should fund low-income

housing. Social Work, 36(4), 297-301. Retrieved from http://sw.oxfordjournals.org/