Please don't take this the wrong way, in fact I'm hoping it will help you. It's nice that you're not with your ex any more, but it sounds like you don't even have yourself to thank for that.

No. You are not on the right path. You are bouncing from place to place and person to person. You are putting your welfare in the hands of individuals, which is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. You are a freelance writer probably making shit, when you need to find a career (especially one that provide benefits like health insurance, which sounds like it will become a major issue for you in the future).

It sounds like you didn't put much forethought into your original move both in terms of looking for jobs beforehand and in terms of finding stable living conditions. If you had done so it would have been much easier to have a backup job and place to live and you may not have even had to leave back home. Also, you should have known about your buddies drug and alcohol use in advance and this should have given you significant pause to walking into financial obligations with him.

I sincerely wish the best for you man. It sounds like you don't have any sort of degree, so I would suggest apprenticing for a trade, going into construction, or enlisting in the military.