Joey Plishka/Cronkite News

The Circle the City mobile unit operates like a doctor’s office. Volunteer nurses and doctors provide care and can treat wounds, burns, illnesses and injuries.

Not every person who is unsheltered is an addict — but the numbers are higher than anyone would like.

This is a difficult part of the equation, and Kate Chandler sees the impact of substance use on the people living in “The Zone” everyday in her work. 

Chandler is a behavioral health consultant and licensed clinical social worker with Circle the City, which provides health care to people who are experiencing homelessness here. She told The Show that mental health problems often collide with substance use when for people who are living on the street. 

Kate Chandler

Kate Chandler

More stories about homelessness from The Show

• For one business owner, the problems from 'The Zone' haven't gone away yet
  
• Author tells story of doctor who spent career working with homeless people
• How courts are shaping policy on the issue of homelessness
• How substance use disorders impact homelessness
• What it's really like to experience homelessness in Arizona
• Why don’t we often hear politicians talking more about homelessness?
• Housing First model approaches homelessness differently than traditional methods
• This Phoenix mom understands the challenges of homelessness in a way others can't
• A homeless Phoenix man has some ideas for how life could be better