| Cosgarne Hall – Alcohol FAQs
Introduction The consumption of alcohol, unlike the use of controlled drugs, is legal. Like so many things that are OK in moderation, alcohol can be misused and, for many reasons, frequently is. Regular misuse over a period usually leads to addiction. Alcohol misuse, coupled with the problems to which it frequently leads - anti-social behaviour, addiction, ill-health, loss of employment, relationship break-up and financial problems - is one of the most significant causes of homelessness. Alcohol misuse is also a killer. To put the severity of the problem of alcohol misuse in perspective, it has been estimated that Ecstasy is responsible for one death every month, Heroin for one death every day and alcohol for one death every 30 minutes. How can we help? For some homeless alcoholics, an environment where they can escape the temptation of alcohol – a “dry house” - is the answer. We recognise, however, that others may be unable or unwilling to contemplate life without alcohol and so opt for the freedom of homelessness in preference to the restrictions of a dry house. It is very difficult, however, for them to address their addiction, or for anyone to help them to do so, while they are homeless. Our policy, therefore, is to put a roof over their heads and giving them the support they need to bring some stability to their life, without depriving them of the freedom to drink. Once we have given them somewhere to live and gained their confidence, we encourage and help them to address their problem, by providing them with a non-judgmental but supportive environment in which they can take the steps needed to conquer their addiction. In order to achieve this, we run a supported accommodation service which tolerates drinking within the service. These types of services are sometimes called “wet houses”. Why allow the consumption of alcohol on the premises – surely it just encourages excessive drinking? There is a number of reasons. Firstly, it enables us to support three categories of drinkers whom we could not help in a “dry house”: Homeless alcoholics who would like to give up drinking, but who cannot “leave their problem on the doorstep”, especially at a time of crisis in their lives. With a roof over their heads and the immediate crisis either relieved or ameliorated, we can support them in their aspiration to conquer their addiction and help them to engage with specialist help to do so. Homeless alcoholics who do not want to give up drinking. Once we have put a roof over their heads and a bit of stability into their lives and, in doing so, gained their confidence, it is easier to persuade them to acknowledge that they have an addiction and to realise that they need to deal with it. In the meantime, we can help them to get the medical attention they may need to prevent them succumbing to the serious illnesses that alcohol misuse causes. Homeless people with support needs unrelated to the consumption of alcohol, who do not have an alcohol problem, but wish to be able to enjoy a drink in their own homes, like “normal” people. There is, however, another reason for allowing the consumption of alcohol on our premises: if persistent drinkers are not allowed to drink here, they will drink elsewhere, often in public places, where their behaviour is offensive to members of the community. By allowing them to drink on our premises, we keep the anti-social behaviour that goes with excessive drinking, off the streets. Do we continue to support and accommodate people who continue to misuse alcohol and remain unwilling to acknowledge or address their addiction? In short, yes. First, because we try not to give up on anyone: one day, we may be able to persuade them to try to conquer their addiction, or there may be an event in their life that brings them to their senses. That day may be tomorrow. Even if that day never comes, they still need somewhere to live, for their own sakes and for the sake of the community and they need someone to help them to limit the damage that alcohol misuse causes to their lives and their health. Finally, even a chronic alcoholic whose life seems completely useless, is someone’s son or daughter, sister or brother, mother or father. If they do die of one of the illnesses that long term alcohol misuse causes, we can ensure that they die with dignity, in a warm, safe environment, where they know that someone cares about them, either here or in hospital, instead of alone, cold and friendless on the street. We can also ensure that they die somewhere where a passer-by will not have to deal with the trauma of finding them. When do we exclude drinkers from the service? As I hope is now clear, we do not exclude anyone merely for using, or misusing alcohol, either on or off our premises. If, however, excessive drinking leads to behaviour that either poses a threat to the safety of the other residents and / or our staff, or significantly adversely affects the lives of their fellow residents, or significantly impairs our ability to support them or other residents, or means that they persistently fail to engage with us, then we do exclude them. But we do so because of that behaviour, just as we exclude anyone whose behaviour is unacceptable or wasteful of a scarce resource, not because of the cause of that behaviour. We hope that this answers most of your questions about our Policy towards Supporting People with Alcohol Issues. Should you have any questions which have not been answered, please speak to any member of the support staff, on 01726 74186. Thankyou. HOME |