A new $5 million pilot program in San Francisco aims to provide free alcohol to homeless alcoholics as a means of reducing the city’s emergency services. The “Managed Alcohol Program” is operated by the city’s Department of Public Health and has stirred up some controversy among experts and advocates.
The program’s goal is to provide limited quantities of alcohol to prevent serious side effects of withdrawal for homeless individuals who are dependent on alcohol. Some experts believe that this program can save lives, while others argue that taxpayer funds would be better allocated to treatment and sobriety programs.
First they ban substance abuse treatment being a condition for free housing, and now CA politicians are buying alcohol to give to the homeless! Remember that the next time they say they need to raise your taxes to “fix homelessness”https://t.co/s4I3bjHp5Y
— Carl DeMaio (@carldemaio) May 11, 2024
Advocates of the program argue that it has successfully reduced emergency room visits, hospital stays, and emergency calls since its implementation. The program also offers life skills classes and cultural outings for patients.
Unsurprisingly, not all are in favor of this approach. Tom Wolf, the founder of the Pacific Alliance for Prevention and Recovery, is a recovering heroin addict who once lived on the streets. He believes that a similar program targeted toward his addiction would not have been effective in his recovery and may have even been detrimental.
🚨Update: San Francisco, California giving away $5 million dollars a year in a government program to give free alcohol to the homeless! Just another example that the government is using our tax money to get rid of people! pic.twitter.com/yZ98D2pGXN
— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) May 12, 2024
Wolf argues that for the $5 million spent annually on providing free alcohol, the city could instead fund 60 drug treatment beds. He questions the desired outcome of the program and believes that it may only serve as a temporary solution rather than addressing the root of the issue.
“It’s not a good idea, not when you consider the fact that, over the last four years, San Francisco spent $20 million to basically service a total of a couple of hundred people… by giving them free vodka and beer. For that amount of money, we could have funded 60 drug treatment beds instead,” Wolf stated.
While proponents believe that this program can save money by reducing the strain on emergency services, critics argue that the cost is still high for a program that only serves a small percentage of homeless individuals.
