Why I Support Managed Alcohol Programs

Why I Support Managed Alcohol Programs – I have to start this post by first asking you all to keep an open mind. I understand often the harm reduction model is not easy to accept. I, myself, do not believe I would have found sobriety in such a program, but I was lucky. By the time I hit the streets I had gone through a detox. Some people are not so lucky and drugs and alcohol have complete control over them. Trying to help a homeless friend in Los Angeles is what changed my mind, and why I requested to visit such a facility. My friend has been homeless since his mother died. After years of trying to drinking his pain away there is not much of my friend left. Alcohol has completely taken over his life. His liver is damaged so much there are sores on his leg. The sores are so bad he cannot wear pants. He ties bandannas around his leg so the sores are not visible. Any normal person would have stopped drinking. But my homeless friend cannot stop on his own. He will die homeless because Los Angeles has yet to adopt the harm reduction model. Any absence based program WILL NOT WORK for my friend. It breaks my heart! This week I visited an a managed alcohol program in Ottawa, Canada. The Oaks Residence is a unique partnership between the Shepherds of Good Hope, Inner City Health and Canadian Mental Health Association. Residents are given an hourly “dose” of alcohol in a clean and safe supervised environment. At first I was a little shocked walking in. All the residents were carrying cups, which I knew were filled with …

by reutC