The research focused on the impact of housing on the careers of drug and alcohol users and on the potential role of housing as part of a wider care package that might enable drug abusers to control, reduce, or discontinue their intake of drugs or alcohol. Results revealed that housing is a first and crucial step in a process of rehabilitation into community living and that drug treatment alone is unlikely to produce major changes in the lives of people with long histories of drug abuse. However, housing alone is not the answer. Drug abusers need complementary services as well as housing so that they can become part of mainstream social and economic life. Findings indicated that workers who counsel and treat drug abusers should be aware of the importance of housing and that social workers and others need to be more aware and proactive in helping individuals promote and safeguard their housing interests. Tables, footnotes, appended list of interview topics and additional findings, and 22 references