I've come to the opinion that the economic situation of a person is only indirectly related to the alcoholic or smack or crack addition they might have.

A business associate I knew from the 1980's - software developer - business owner (this all brought wealth) could not kick cocaine which led to crack which was buried in heavy drinking which led to killing a pedestrian one New Years eve and now 7 to 15 years in jail. Person was obviously educated...

This is not the only case I know of - smack use by legal professionals that lead to overdose deaths - the list goes on...

I fully believe that the lack of attention paid to mental health is the cause of the alcohol/drug/crack use. We have no problem ordering flu shots and getting our teeth bleached, but any form of depression or self-esteem problems in our children are ignored (actually denied most likely) and then we push out teens and adults barely able to perform in society.

I'm sure that if you dug deep into the past of these two women the stories of bad upbringing and lack of love/attention and true caring might be the foundation of the loss they are in now...

Sorry to be so serious in chit chat