American Poll #3: Addiction and Homelessness

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What this poll asks

1. How big a problem is homelessness in your community?
2. How big a problem is drug addiction in your community?
3. What do you think is the biggest cause of homelessness?
4. Which level of government should be most responsible for homelessness?
5. Supervised consumption sites let people use drugs they bring with them while staff watch, so overdoses can be reversed. Only a handful operate in the US, in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, and a federal appeals court has ruled such sites violate federal drug law. Supporters say they save lives; opponents say they bring drug use and disorder into neighborhoods. Do you support or oppose supervised consumption sites?
6. Medications such as methadone and buprenorphine treat opioid addiction, but strict rules limit where and how they can be prescribed. Should it be easier to get these medications?
7. In 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs. In 2024, after rising public drug use and overdose deaths, Oregon made possession a crime again. Should possessing a small amount of hard drugs for personal use be a crime?
8. Should using drugs in public places, such as parks, transit and sidewalks, be illegal?
9. A July 2025 executive order encourages states to make it easier to commit people to mental health or addiction treatment involuntarily when they are a danger to themselves or others, and states including California and New York have expanded these laws. Supporters say it saves people who can't choose help on their own; critics raise civil liberties concerns and question whether forced treatment works. Do you support or oppose involuntary treatment in cases like these?
10. In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled (Grants Pass v. Johnson) that cities can ban sleeping outside in public places, even when there isn't enough shelter space, and more than 100 cities have since passed or strengthened camping bans. Should cities be able to fine or arrest people for sleeping outside?
11. "Housing First" gives people a home first and then offers treatment, without requiring sobriety. The July 2025 executive order shifts federal funding toward programs that require treatment or sobriety first. Supporters of Housing First say stable housing makes recovery possible; critics say it can leave addiction untreated. Which is closer to your view?
12. During COVID, many cities, including California's Project Roomkey, rented hotel rooms to house people who were homeless. One idea is to offer hotel or motel rooms to people living outside, on the condition that they sign up for government assistance and meet regularly with a case worker. Do you support or oppose this idea?
13. Another idea combines both approaches: offer every person in an encampment housing and treatment, and clear the encampment only for those who turn it down. Do you support or oppose this approach?
14. Should governments fund enough addiction treatment beds that anyone who asks for treatment can get in quickly, even if it costs more?
15. Harm reduction programs hand out naloxone (which reverses overdoses), clean supplies and drug checking strips. The July 2025 executive order directs federal agencies to stop funding programs that include harm reduction. Supporters say these programs keep people alive long enough to recover; critics say they make drug use easier. Do you support or oppose public funding for harm reduction programs?
16. Should government assistance programs (such as food stamps, Medicaid and housing assistance) be expanded, kept the same or cut back?
17. Should people receiving government assistance who have an addiction be required to take part in treatment to keep receiving it?
18. If you could put more money into one area, which would it be?
19. How is your state government handling addiction and homelessness?
20. How is the federal government handling addiction and homelessness?
21. Have you, or someone close to you, been affected by addiction or homelessness?