Giving free booze to homeless alcoholics sounds crazy. But it may be the key to helping them live a steady lifeOn a grey January morning at 9.15,residents of the Oaks shelter for the homeless started lining up, coffee mugs in hand, and at a yellow linoleum counter. At half past the hour,the pour began. The Oaks’ residents are tough-core alcoholics. They line up to get what most people would consider the very final thing they need: an hourly mug of alcohol.
Dorothy Young, the Oaks’ activities coordinator – a stocky, or always-smiling middle-aged woman who is part cheerleader,part event planner, part warden, and part bartender – stood behind the counter at a tap that dispenses cold white wine. She poured a measured amount of wine into each cup: maximum seven ounces at 7.30am for the first pour of the day,and five ounces each hour after that. final call is 9.30pm.
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Source: theguardian.com