Doug Winterburn responds:

Another concrete example:

A family member who has had drug problems for forty years. He has been in
treatment many times. He has drained taxpayers money and family money for
forty years. His latest treatment involves wearing some sort of patch
which he trades to his "friends" for money to buy better stuff. We give
him new clothes because he usually looks worse than most street people and
he trades them for drugs. A sister had him set up with low cost housing
and was managing his government assistance money and all was going well
for almost a year. He was booted out because of all the high traffic of
short duration into and out of his apartment. I'd like to hear a solution.

I think we all would, Doug. But can we deny someone else some help because one
person takes advantage of what is provided?

I'd guess there's some sort of cut-off needed on people like this, but I'm not
savvy enough to know the place to put the limit.

I think your relative's patch is similar to what I used to hear about methadone
treatments for drug addicts: they finally started making them take the dose at
the place where it was handed out, because the dopers were trading the doses
for drugs that gave them more of, shall we say, a nodding acquaintance with the
world and the people in it.

Charlie Self
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine

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