A 2006 study of an Ottawa shelter program for extreme alcoholics found reduced police encounters, fewer emergency room visits, increased health for its participants and lowered alcohol consumption.
"Once you get the craziness of alcohol out of their life, the alcohol seeking, the criminal behaviour that comes with that- underneath that you find really interesting people who, once stabilized, want to be part of our community," said Dr. Jeff Turnbull, co-founder and medical director of the Ottawa Inner City Health Project, which serves the city's homeless population.
Turnbull co-authored the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "They want to volunteer," he told the Courier by phone last week. "They want to watch TV. They want to go and vote- They're still alcoholics, but the surprising thing to me was, when you gave them the opportunity, they took it."
According to the study, police encounters for participants were reduced from an average of 18.1 to 8.8 per month. Emergency room visits fell from an average of 13.5 per month to eight. Blood tests measuring the amount of alcohol in participant's blood didn't change significantly, but all participants reported less alcohol consumption, and service providers reported improved health, compliance with medical care and hygiene.
The Ottawa program has run in an Ottawa shelter for 12 years. Turnbull, also chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital and past president of the Canadian Medical Association, says Ottawa "shamelessly stole" the model from Toronto's Seaton House.
The Toronto shelter-based program started 15 years ago after inquests into the death of three homeless men.
Vancouver Coastal Health and PHS Community Services Society started their own residential managed alcohol program in Vancouver in October. Eight of 80 residents participate in the trial. The Centre for Addictions Research for B.C., will evaluate the Vancouver program.
Two years ago, Ottawa also started a residential managed alcohol program.
The residents make and pay for their own wine. They assemble three meals a day alongside staff. The 55 former shelter residents who've been drinking for at least 30 years told management of the refurbished hotel they were "too nice," said Turnbull.
"They wanted, everybody had to clean their rooms by a certain hour and they had to be up, moving around, nobody's sleeping in, after meals everybody cleans up," he said. "We offer them wine- so if you're drinking paint thinner or rubbing alcohol, this is pretty tame stuff. So they bitch and moan about the alcohol, not enough, because we're always trying to cut it down or we water it down."
Residents use their personal needs allowance, or welfare, to pay for the alcohol. Participants in the managed alcohol program at the Ottawa shelter can advance to the former hotel.
Residents in the residential managed alcohol must drink only the wine it provides, sleep there and not panhandle. Shelter provider Shepherds of Good Help helped raise money to purchase the hotel and provides housing dollars. The Ottawa Inner City Health Project, which is funded by the provincial ministry of health, provides health-related funding for social and healthcare workers.
Turnbull recommends to Vancouver to get police, local politicians, shelter providers and community groups onside early. "Now the police bring us people on a regular basis," he said. "They say, 'You've got to look after this guy. He should be yours.'"
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
