Homeless Project Residents Drink Less If Booze Ban Is Lifted

[n2doc]

This Sunday, millions of Americans will sit down in front of their television or computer, crack open a few beers, and watch the Super Bowl. But if those viewers live in a housing project for the homeless, that booze could get them booted back out to the street. Many homeless housing projects have strict abstinence policies, and require residents to be completely sober. Permitting alcohol, many community organizers reason, would enable addictions and promote a downward spiral into continued drinking and declining health.

Now, a study suggests that requiring alcohol abstinence from residents of homeless projects might be misguided. In at least one project where residents were allowed to drink, alcohol consumption decreased, as did alcohol-related health problems, researchers reported on January 19 in the American Journal of Public Health.

A total of 95 residents were tracked in the 1811 House—a housing project in Seattle. After two years, the residents' median number of drinks per day decreased from 28 to 17, about a 40 percent drop. And the number of alcohol-related health problems, such as delirium tremens, decreased as well. "We found that these people are human beings, and can moderate their drinking," says Susan Collins, at researcher at the University of Washington, and lead author on the study, "and that starts with getting housing."

The 1811 House is what experts call a "housing first"—it provides housing before asking residents to address their addictions, psychological disorders or other existing problems. The alternative, a "treatment first" model, tries to get homeless people clean and sober before offering them housing. Each day in the United States, there are about 640,000 homeless people, 17 percent of whom are considered “chronically homeless.”

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=homeless-project-residents-drink-less

[ellisonz]

1. K & R

[varelse]

2. "We found that these people are human beings"

K&R

[limpyhobbler]

3. I'm sure it varies case by case. Some severe alcoholics would not be able to drink in moderation.

In the case of severe alcohol dependence, strict abstinence is required. But other homeless people should not be deprived of simple cheap joys in moderation.

“Alcohol and marijuana, if used in moderation, plus loud, usually low-class music, makes stress and boredom infinitely more bearable.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus

[loyalsister]

4. "And the number of alcohol-related health problems, such as delirium tremens, decreased as well."

Duh... DTs are withdrawal symptoms. Of course they decrease when alcohol is available.
I agree that there is a benefit to an individual to not be experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but it is not evidence of any kind of long term health improvement.