STUDY FINDS ADDICTS STRUGGLE WITHOUT AID

Bay Area drug addicts and alcoholics who were part of a federal
welfare program that paid them to seek treatment were more likely to
wind up homeless or go hungry after the program was cut off, according
to a new national study released Monday.

The study, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, looked at
people who received benefits from the federal Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Program, which ended in
1997. The study included four areas in Northern California -- Santa
Clara County, San Francisco, Alameda County and San Joaquin County,
surveying 519 people.

As part of the SSI program, people were required to enroll in
substance-abuse treatment. In exchange, they were given $500 a month
and received medical insurance through public programs. But the SSI
program was eliminated in 1997 amid Congress' efforts to overhaul welfare.

In the Bay Area, about 16 percent of those surveyed said they spent
one or more nights on the street or in a homeless shelter after their
benefits ended. Those who lost their benefits and were unable to find
other assistance were twice as likely to end up homeless between 1997
and 1999, the period when the study was conducted. Researchers also
found that 36 percent went hungry because they could not afford food,
with 43 percent turning to emergency food sources. Participants who
showed symptoms of mental illness were more likely to encounter these
problems.

Participants filled out five surveys over two years and were paid $40
a survey. The study included 153 people from San Francisco, 146 from
Alameda County, 66 from Santa Clara County, and 154 from San Joaquin
County. The study's results came as no surprise to community groups
that work with recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

The program gave a boost to those trying to make ends meet while
attempting to conquer their addictions, said Jim Larson, resource and
program development manager for the Department of Alcohol and Drug
Services in Santa Clara County.

``Most people were simply trying to survive on it,'' Larson said.
``With the loss of benefits, they struggled to survive on less money.''

At the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco, chief pharmacist
Greg Hayner said clients who displayed substance abuse issues often
show signs of mental illness, which can prevent them from keeping a
job and could lead to homelessness, he said.

``We don't have too many people on these programs for frivolous
reasons,'' Hayner said. ``They really need the assistance. It's too
bad the money has gotten harder to come by.''