Homeless women are poured daily in San Francisco/wirestock
The authorities of San Francisco distribute bottles of beer, glasses of wine and stacks of vodka to homeless alcoholics. 5 million dollars are spent annually on this program.
Alcoholic drinks are distributed by nurses as part of the city's “controlled alcohol” program. It has been operating for four years as a way of caring for vulnerable homeless people, writes The Daily Mail.
The program is designed to limit the amount of alcohol, which homeless people drink. They are still allowed to drink a little, but in a more controlled manner, in the hope of curbing their addiction in a controlled way.
Nurses assess patients and usually give them the equivalent of 1 – 2 drinks three – four times a day, dispensing either 1.7 ounces of vodka or liquor (about a shot), or 5 ounces of wine (1 glass), or 12 ounces of beer – about three-quarters of a pint.
Experts involved in the program say it has actually helped keep homeless alcoholics out of hospitals, prisons and even death.
Before the program was created, those who abused alcohol were among the most frequent emergency responders in the city.
Since the program was launched in 2020, it has doubled in size. Originally 10 beds for those suffering from alcoholism, now there are 20 beds in an abandoned hotel in the Tenderloin neighborhood.
But it costs money: the city puts about $5 million into the program to year,as nurses pour vodka and beer for patients several times a day based on the individual medical plans of the “patients”. by the drop.
While the program may be lifting spirits among the homeless, some residents appear to have only recently learned of the city's efforts and believe the taxpayer-funded program – itmoney thrown to the wind.
Adam Nathan, CEO of an artificial intelligence company and chairman of the San Francisco Salvation Army Advisory Board, noted that drug addicts are not given drugs, so the question is why alcohol is given to alcoholics.
All this seems very strange and wrong to me. Providing free drugs to drug addicts does not solve their problems. It only stretches them. Where is the recovery in all this?,
– wrote Nathan to contributor X.
The idea of the program is based on “harm reduction”, which is aimed at reducing the negative consequences of alcohol and drug use for health, rather than a complete rejection of these vices.
Homelessness and overdose deaths have been problems for the city in years past, but critics say such programs only fuel addiction.
The Salvation Army, which advocates full refusal of alcohol, criticizes the city for spending public funds on this initiative.