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Shelter for Public Inebriates - Why is this a Problem?
Some years ago public intoxication was decriminalized and “drunk tanks” ceased to exist. Police officers could choose one of four options: charge public inebriates with some other crime, take them to a shelter, take them to an emergency room, or leave them where they found them. Eventually, the emergency room became the only logical place for them to go.
Yet if a police officer transports a public inebriate to an emergency room, that officer is duty-bound to stay with the inebriate until he or she is admitted to the hospital, a process that can take hours. Then emergency room personnel become responsible for a sometimes disruptive person who may need to be restrained and who draws them away from more serious cases. This is an expensive and resource-consuming alternative when, in reality, all that is needed is a safe place for the public inebriate to be monitored by medical professionals.
Yet if a police officer transports a public inebriate to an emergency room, that officer is duty-bound to stay with the inebriate until he or she is admitted to the hospital, a process that can take hours. Then emergency room personnel become responsible for a sometimes disruptive person who may need to be restrained and who draws them away from more serious cases. This is an expensive and resource-consuming alternative when, in reality, all that is needed is a safe place for the public inebriate to be monitored by medical professionals.
Why a separate shelter?
Emergency Shelters are poised to provide care to homeless people whether they are impaired by substances or not, yet shelters are not medical centers and are not well-equipped to handle violent or disruptive inebriates. The solution is a compassionate, cost-efficient program and facility that is prepared to receive the severely alcohol impaired and care for them—the Shelter for Public Inebriates.
Emergency Shelters are poised to provide care to homeless people whether they are impaired by substances or not, yet shelters are not medical centers and are not well-equipped to handle violent or disruptive inebriates. The solution is a compassionate, cost-efficient program and facility that is prepared to receive the severely alcohol impaired and care for them—the Shelter for Public Inebriates.
