Managing alcohol

Last week, Shepherds of Good Hope had a visitor.

Arthur Williams, an MD with the division of substance abuse, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, was getting the grand tour through our main building on King Edward, and a visit at The Oaks on Merivale.

We're going to have a story later this week on our website about his visit, so I won't give it all way, but let's just say he was impressed, especially when he got the details on The Oaks.

The Oaks is a supportive living complex made up of two apartment buildings on Merivale. The residents come from Shepherds, Ottawa Inner City Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Many of the people living there are part of MAP - managed alcohol program. Whenever I explain what MAP is, people are astounded. Basically, it's a program for men and women who are chronically homeless and severely addicted to alcohol. We don't start off with the premise that they need to get off alcohol. We have the supports in place that if they eventually want to get to that point, we can help them. But think of those three words - managed alcohol program. That's right, we manage their alcohol intake.

We manage their alcohol intake by giving them a small drink every hour. Not everyone gets the same amount. It depends on their current health situation, their weight, their tolerance, etc. When it's time to get a drink, everyone lines up and staff carefully measure out each person's alcohol one by one. By managing their alcohol intake, the clients are healthier. They can stick around in the common room, have a sandwich, socialize or they can go back to their apartment.

Arthur was quite impressed and noted he didn't know of a similar program anywhere in the U.S. As a researcher, these were the type of innovative programs he was looking at. Not only do they help the homeless who have chronic addictions, they also are cost efficient.

If you would like a tour of one of our innovative programs, just e-mail me.