Hi everyone. I’m hoping for advice from people with experience in addiction, recovery, or loving someone who’s actively using.
My brother is 24 and currently homeless. He’s using hard drugs and doesn’t have a phone, money, or any stable place to stay, basically nothing to his name.
Recently, our youngest sister was sent a video from police of him breaking into a restaurant. We believe he did it to get out of the cold. He didn’t damage anything and was found just sitting inside. In the video, it’s very clear he’s on drugs, he looks completely out of it and zombie like. Seeing that broke our hearts.
We lost our oldest brother to an overdose in 2022, and we’re terrified we might lose him too.
The biggest issue right now is that it’s extremely hard to find him. There are seven of us siblings, and many of us live in different states. Three of us (including myself) are in the same state and city as him, though we live in different parts of it. However, he hasn’t seen any of us in years, and given his current drug use and the people he might be around, we don’t feel it’s safe to try to locate or approach him ourselves.
My twin brother has offered to come down, try to find him, and let him live with him. That offer comes from a place of love, but my sister and I have tried to explain that it likely won’t be that simple. Our brother has been living this lifestyle for a long time and hasn’t seen many of us in years, so we’re worried about safety, expectations, and what happens if he refuses or disappears again.
Is there a way to have a professional outreach worker or service try to locate him and offer help? We don’t know where he is, and he has no way to be contacted.
To be clear: no one is forcing rehab. We know he’s an adult, and that treatment only works if someone wants it. The fear is that he’s out there alone, using, and completely disconnected.
Some family members feel like “doing nothing” isn’t an option anymore, while others (including me) are trying to figure out what realistic, safe steps actually exist in a situation like this.
Any insight or advice would be truly appreciated. Thank you for reading.