Almost half of Vancouver residents feel sympathetic towards the city's homeless, while most feel drug and alcohol abuse drive people to live on the street, according to a new poll.

Drug addiction is one of the factors that led Arlene and her partner to live in a Vancouver park for six months.

"We would make a driftwood shelter, and then in the morning we would have to get up early because the police would come and evict you," she told CTV Vancouver.

She now lives in a temporary homeless shelter. But it's still a far cry from owning property and the sense of security that brings.

"I miss my own kitchen, my own space," she said. "You know, it's something people generally take for granted, just the simplest thing: having your own home, your own bed."

The survey was conducted by the Strategic Counsel for CTV, the Globe and Mail and CKNW Radio.

When respondents were asked why individuals become homeless, 57 per cent blamed drug or alcohol addiction. Here are the complete results:

• Drug or alcohol addiction: 57 per cent
• They have mental health problems: 53 per cent
• Lack of affordable housing: 27 per cent
• They lack the skills to get a job: 17 per cent
• They are too lazy to work: 14 per cent
• Low welfare rates: 9 per cent

The poll sampled 500 Vancouver residents in the last week of November. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Robert says depression led to the loss of his job.

A man who gave his name as Robert said depression led to the loss of his job. Now he's forced to line up for food distributed by charity organizations, and he now feels bereft of any emotional support.

"I've just been bounced from one agency to another agency," he said.

"Basically, I never got the help that I need. All I see is misery -- misery and despair."

When respondents were asked how they felt when they saw a homeless person, 48 per cent said they sympathized. Here are the results:

• Sympathetic: 48 per cent
• Uncomfortably: 16 per cent
• Neutral: 15 per cent
• Angry: 8 per cent
• Ashamed: 6 per cent
• Afraid: 2 per cent
• Guilty: 2 per cent

The homeless population in Vancouver has shown a steady increase in the past few years.

Arlene said she never thought she would end up homeless. Now a 44-year-old grandmother, she finds her situation deeply demeaning.

"I never want to push a shopping cart," she said.

"It's embarrassing, but you just put that aside because you have to collect cans or bottles. If you're not working that day, then you do something else to make a dollar so you can eat."

The homeless population in Vancouver has shown a steady increase in the past few years. In March 2005, a Vancouver-area survey concluded there were 2,174 people living on the street. That's almost double a 2002 count of 1,121.

Cynthia Low believes about 40 per cent of the homeless are women.

Cynthia Low, who works at the city's Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter, believes about 40 per cent of the homeless are women.

"It's not safe for women to sleep on the street. There's a guarantee she will be assaulted, a guarantee that someone will try to get something out of here" she said.

Anyone interested in donating to a charity striving to help the homeless in the Vancouver area can call the CTV Care Line at 604-515-2273.

With reports from CTV Vancouver