The homeless and drug addicts have been stratified at the bottom of the social ladder. They are seen as deviants, so as a society we are taught to ignore them, look down on them, and disregard their needs. Bourgeois and Schonberg's study, Righteous Dopefiend, follows the lives of homeless heroin addicts living on Edgewater Boulevard. Edgewater's homeless people recognize that those with economic capital have a responsibility to meet their needs and therefore accept their value in society. As a result, they call themselves “righteous dopefiends” (2009, p. 5). Bourgeois and Schonberg show how structural violence affected Edgewater's homeless, such as self-blame, lack of access to quality medical care, and what is described as intimate apartheid. Righteous Dopefiend (Bourgeois and Schonberg, 2009) provides first-hand insight into the experiences of Edgewater's homeless population. The Edgewater community endures. By connecting the injustices of the bureaucratic system, this research educates compassionate people as well as individuals who create policy or work with homeless addicts to better help and assist them. Additionally, the study contributes to the debate on homelessness and drug addiction and provides insight into why it is not so easy for self-righteous addicts to get clean and maintain housing. The research found that most of Edgewater's homeless people were seeking help and all had difficulty breaking away from their past after leaving rehabilitation centers. A few participants tragically succumbed to the disease of addiction, like Carter, Chester and Hogan. Other participants treated for heroin addiction returned to the streets, such as Tina, Max and Hogan. However, their difficulty in remaining abstinent is evident. Hogan's testimony highlights the findings of the struggles and injustices taking place in the neighborhoods that would be too xenophobic to confront. As a nation, we must be concerned and empathetic to people like the homeless in Edgewater who face these dangers every day. Due to the sheer amount of information collected, Bourgeois and Schonberg's research was as detailed as it could be. This study is perfect for many educators, hospital and clinic staff, community members, and anyone who has compassion for righteous drug users. Punishing those who struggle with an illness will not be enough to rehabilitate themselves. These issues therefore affect society as a whole and the well-being of the dependent population must no longer be ostracized. Works Cited Bourgeois, P. & Schonberg, J. (2009). A righteous idiot. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.