Canadian social-program gives Homeless Alcoholics free drinks April 1, 2009
Posted by inrecovery in : Worldwide , trackback
On any typical day in Ottawa’s Parliament Hill district, you can find homeless people being fed and taken care of, which is fine with most people, however, when free alcoholic drinks are being distributed to them several times throughout the day by social-programs that receive funding from the local government, controversy is sparked.
It turns out that the Canadian based social-program, Ottawa Inner City Health project, used to receive funds from a combination of donations and public funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care; and even though they incorporated as the nonprofit organization, Ottawa Inner City Health, Inc. in February 2005, the group still receives help from the OMHLTC to find funding.
Still, the fact of the matter is that the program is working. It is estimated that the initiative carried out by Ottawa Inner City Health has saved the local health-care system over $3.5 million by way of managing the homeless alcoholics, consumption behaviors and thus reducing or eliminating their numerous hospital emergency rooms visits. Also, according to local businesses and community members, the program has created a much safer and realistic solution.
However, it is clear that no similar program exists in Ottawa that gives drug addicts free drugs on a regular basis as a means to “control” the problem. In reality, this is considered an unfeasible proposition by the same local groups that govern the program that gives alcoholics free drinks. Additionally, a lot of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts feel that the program is not a reasonable solution because it acts more like a Band-Aid, rather than a real resolution. Truthfully, many feel that the only “real” solution would be to spend the funds instead on recovery and rehabilitation treatment.
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