I've worked with people who use drugs for some time now, and they all agree that, that these terms, make it harder for them to access help as it just places them in a box where all other aspects of their humanity and personhood are ignored.

What they say to me, is worthless. I experienced being around junkies, I was homeless for a few months, lived in the homeless hub and link2home emergency accommodation... it just made me hate these people, I had empathy before but it's all gone now.

Like 98% of them make a choice to be there, directly, or indirectly. What do most of the people in a homeless hub do all day? Go look for jobs? Exercise? Or do you think they bum around, bash each other, steal from those not in a group, harass the staff, and drink/do drugs.

I had an addiction too, doesn't make it an excuse to be a weak layabout who cry poor me and do absolutely zilch about it. Hard to empathise with people who don't even want the help that is handed to them.