Two of society's biggest problems are intertwined. You solve one, and it will go a long way toward solving the other: alcoholism and homelessness, for such a large portion of our homeless population is made up of alcoholics.
The other day, I suggested life treatment centers for our alcoholics. Or, call them alcohol life centers. Rather than treat-and-release centers, life treatment centers would not require the alcoholic to move along at some point. Rather, the alcoholic could stay there and be treated for the rest of his life. Whenever possible, the resident works -- and that should be the case in by far the majority of situations.
And, with the money earned, the resident pays for his stay, making this not a free ride.
Working is one of the needs a person has if they are to overcome alcoholism. They need to have things to occupy them, so they are not just sitting around drinking. Another need the alcoholic has, if the alcoholism is to be successfully battled, is to have someone overseeing him on an hour-by-hour basis. That often cannot be achieved in a home, but requires them to go to a treatment center.
And, another need they have, is help in finding their jobs. On their own, they often go jobless. Often companies reject them because they are alcoholic. We need centers that ferret out jobs with those who will employ them even though they are alcoholics. That takes a sales effort that the alcoholic, himself, is not equipped to handle.
Centers such as these answer not only our need to care for alcoholics, but they solve much of our homelessness. If all the drunken among our homeless could go to places such as these, if all of them could just walk in and be accepted, how many homeless people would be left? There would be a lot less.
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