The Pour : Treating Alcoholics with Wine - the fifth estate

[Music] the alcohol is the most important uh thing in their lives it's hard to grasp that concept how much alcohol would you drink in a day every day 24 years AG oo you started the day in a good mood eh but is this how you start every day yeah first thing shortly after 7:30 you're here for that drink good it's more important than their health it's more important than anything I was drinking Listerine and rubbing alcohol and beer and whatever I could get to get into the program you have to be an inv veteran alcoholic long-term alcoholic who has failed at traditional treatment programs where would you be if you weren't here dead I would have drank myself to death I uh wrote a song about my life and rather than say it or try to tell you what my life was like I I wouldn't mind singing it to you please we're buddies right right I'm not uh going to I'm not you're not going to think I'm crazy cuz I want to sing a song to you not at all all right I'll I'll try my best to sing the song when I was a young man I picked up my first beer little did I know that it would lead me here full of fear and sadness it took away my wife hungry lonely tired it almost took my life well I couldn't stand to live that way so I got on my knees then I found a big book and I got what I need oh the big book oh the big book oh the big book saved my life yeah the big book Sav my life and when they open up that door and I'm free to leave I'll change my way so I can be the man I want to be oh the big book oh the big book oh the big book say my life you got it buddy so yeah that's uh that's a story of my life and Jimm's Journey has brought him here to The Oaks where it's happy hour every hour how many drinks have you had today well since 7:30 this morning I've had about eight drinks I'm feeling pretty good eight drinks and Counting even more surprising The Oaks is an alcohol treatment facility enjoy from 7:30 a.m. till 9:30 at night most of the 45 or so residents here line up for a drink they get one an hour they call it the poor it's part of a managed alcohol program or map for short the drink that's ravaged these alcoholics is now being used to save them or at least at least that's the theory Dr Jeff turull is an eminent physician educator and recipient of the Order of Canada how you doing good he helped launch the program more than 15 years ago where did that come from he knows radical approaches can attract some radical reaction obviously it's controversial we understand that um harm reduction in general is a controversial strategy he says he even received death threats from extreme opponents who believe abstinence is the only solution for problem drinkers to get into the program you have to be an inv veteran alcoholic long-term alcoholic who has failed at traditional treatment programs so these are the the worst of the worst these are the people who are sleeping outside and you would you and I would want to try and walk around them and give them a wide birth and uh and they were almost always intoxicated oh that your Liberty many here struggle with mental illness getting them stable is the priority sobriety well that's for another day you're awesome by far the majority of all of the people have come through these doors um have stabilized gotten better got control of their life and still drinking I wish they weren't but um by far the majority are substantially better than they were when they came in and it's quite a cast of characters here like this father of two from BC a small business owner from Southern Ontario a loving mother an Inuit artist a guitar player this groundbreaking program is attracting visits from policy makers across Canada they want to know whether this treatment really is improving the lives of the worst of the worst that's what I've come to find out too good morning morning good morning morning how are you good how are you good morning Ray mchu is the program manager of the Oaks he works for the Shepherds of Good Hope a nonprofit organization that serves the homeless of Ottawa when you had first heard about the idea of the managed alcohol program let's treat alcoholics with alcohol how did that strike you I thought it was a little uh little crazy to tell you the truth uh but one I saw how the program worked and the transition of the residents from where they were before to once they were in the program I totally understood it and then I haven't haven't left since so if the alcohol weren't here they wouldn't be here they'd be in the streets if You' seen them six years ago or three years ago prior to this this is uh this is Paradise this is Paradise yeah Hotel Paradise it is wow so this is it this is the production room Ray shows me this side of paradise where the homade wine is being fermented he jokes it just might be the biggest wine seller in all of Ottawa so what do we have here right this is all this is all wine this is all wine so we filtered up into the top barrels uh all the stuff from the top barrels goes through this line and through this machine here that's a draft system just like they'd have in a pub ex except it's got uh it's got wine instead of beer how much wine do you go through every week uh every four weeks we make a batch and that's about 855 gallons really yep how would you judge the quality of the wine I've never tried it uh most of our residents but uh prefer quantity over quality quantity indeed many residents drink the equivalent of about three bottles of wine a day every day but it's not a free-for-all Luchia Ali is the gatekeeper and she makes sure of that okay so what we're going to do you're going to tell me how much I need to pour okay Luchia monitors the poor each resident has a prescrip hourly dose measured to the Ounce dictated by the in-house nurse so what's the difference between the two tpes this is the special which comes from The Wine Room mix half Wine Half uh water yep and this is the regular okay so how important is it to get it right the poor right to give them the right amount it's very important because it counts as their medical dose so you see the alcohol here like a medical dose that's the way you look at it yeah that's that's how it is because for them for some of them when they get up in the morning if they don't get it they will start shaking if I were to have a drink every hour from 7:30 in the morning 8:30 9:30 10 I'd be drunk not not for them they've been doing it for such a long time not for them and it's very easy to assess them if they are intoxicated and if they are Luchia Cuts them off until the next Bo all right so my 2.5 is a little Above This mhm a little bit above the two yeah all right the residents are respectful bad behavior isn't tolerated around here an gets five regular it's around 2:30 which means many of the residents are on their eighth drink of the day but they're sharp watch what happens when I'm short with my pore what do you mean it's not fine let's see I'm being called on it I'm being called on it a little bit short I okay now it is five yeah I'm sorry Annie it's okay that's a rookie mistake it's okay every Milli ounce to that's unbelievable and she was right now I'm now I'm nervous I'm going to underp pour here going to be a riot that's not 7 oz it's not 7 oz cuz you're getting five the cost of the wine and room and board is deducted from the resident government benefit checks what does this wine taste like I've never tasted how many how many glasses do you think you've poured millions millions yes and you never once tasted it never you don't drink I don't drink you didn't drink before you came here no never ever in my life really no it's not the greatest wine in the world Mark you wouldn't really want to drink it no but it has alcohol in it not much but enough to keep us stable that's what they're trying to do just keep you stable all day long because stable is a step up for Jimmy who used to turn to wash and rubbing alcohol to feed his addiction have you ever tried to quit have you ever tried to go through a rehab program oh yes I've went through six of them six of them six of them but in these the six times you tried to quit was it always cold turkey abstinence yeah Y and that didn't work for you didn't [Music] work but here's why residents say this program does work for them there's more here than the hourly port four yeah everybody needs a little TLC in life yeah when they're stabilized they can socialize patients are given their medication and monitored and everyone is well fed with a roof over their heads getting that next drink seems like an afterthought until it's time once again for the hourly pour oh a good time yeah oh this at the bottom of the clock it's back to the line a reminder their lives are still driven by getting that next drink booze has ruined the lives of so many of the residents here people like Irwin 10 years ago Irwin had a stable life a family and a job with a moving company you've got two boys yeah when's the last time you you saw them 10 years ago 10 years ago yeah what would you like to say to your boys I'm sorry I wasn't there for you right now I don't want them to see me as an alcoholic why not hm why not because I'm ashamed what are you ashamed of just cuz I'm alcoholic and I don't want them to be alcoholic like me if watching means AR being used wiwin volunteers to change the beds here three times a week he says it helps pass the time between drinks well it's that time again so Irwin joins the crowd headed to the poor downstairs it's Mr mo hi nice to meet you I'm Mark from CBC I'm John moist John nice to meet you we're just shooting a little documentary here his birthday today your birthday today my birthday happy birthday sir 73 years old he he runs to Terry Fox run I I I walk now walk not run fantastic ter Fox good for you yeah irn says he doesn't need this drink but he certainly won't pass it up how's that feel I like Cherry better you like Cherry better so when you have a drink like this what difference does it make for you just takes off the egg there you go Peter that's about it we don't get drunk go of it no no but you'll have a drink so and then you're going to get back to what you have to do you just take a little break with a drink yep I take get my drink tug it back get back go go back to work where's your cup Sunny a little bit of you drink I know I do wine probably thank you Julie yeah a all wine once in a while beer once in a while yeah just once in a while though but even in this landscape of loss the residents have something to carry them through they have each other happy birthday to you happy birthday to you Mr moist doesn't even drink alcohol at the Oaks but he still lines up with the others to share the bond of the poor here Johnny hey enjoy your [Music] day so why can't others wean themselves off the booze as well isn't the hourly poor simply enabling their addiction a lot of people here they're having just about three bottles of wine a day yeah you're a doctor absolutely this is not good for [Music] anyone as winter settles in it's Survival season for Canada's most vulnerable especially for those who live and sometimes die on the streets Jimmy survived his dignity didn't living on the street was really rough I spent seven years on the street I remember sleeping underneath a tractor trailer and I slept underneath that trailer for about 5 months it was horrible living like that you can't wash can't change you have nothing it's just horrible horrible horrible so like I say to anybody out there living like that ask for help you need to do it but Jimmy didn't look for help help found him so Jimmy uh do you remember when we first met uh where most would see a wasted life social worker Ray Mt saw an opportunity I needed a place lay my head yeah I just had I was beat yeah I had enough thank you for saving my ass no problem Jimmy you're doing absolutely fantastic Jimmy all right on Jimmy now lives here at the Oaks residence along with some 45 chronic alcoholics here the residents can get up to 15 drinks a day it's a groundbreaking program paid for in part by the residents themselves keeping the problem drinkers inside the Oaks keeps them off the city streets and out of trouble Sergeant John Gibbons is with the autta Police Service he spent years patrolling the city's byward Market three to four times a shift you're getting a call four times a shift I was dealing with uh chronic alcoholics and that could be from uh a fight that's taking place at the shepherd's of Good Hope or or the mission or whatnot because of the alcohol when he first heard about this program that treated alcoholics with alcohol he was floored at first I was skeptical I wasn't well I'll be honest with you I didn't in it I thought it was a mistake but then I saw the results the guys that I was dealing with every single day day in day out weren't there to the point I actually thought that they had died and with fewer chronic drinkers out there it means they no longer chew up a huge chunk of ottawa's Emergency Services it was huge huge cost savings I haven't seen one alcoholic hide in his bottle of booze and doing nothing except right there right there right on Q in terms of cutting down calls for service for the police the ambulance the fire and most importantly in terms of giving someone back their dignity this program is by far and way the best uh program going it's a pretty strong endorsement from a police officer that's a very strong [Music] [Applause] endorsement but back at the Oaks I'm reminded this program only reduces harm it doesn't eliminate it take a look at Peter he's the youngest resident here just 28 years old the door is always open here so Peter went out for a night on the streets and it didn't end well I just sort of like to see the wound the nurse at the Oaks inspects the damage and it runs deep I'll go really slow taking off the bandage okay seems like you have a rough time Peter when you go downtown e oh yeah I come back with something new yeah I wonder what kind of future Peter has after 6 years in the managed alcohol program his life is still controlled by booze so what's changed at the Oaks despite his violent night on the streets Peter doesn't miss a beat or a drink it's just about that time he's back in line for the poor I told you not to go downtown you're too old for that his addiction is calling and the map program is answering he is our guardian angel she's your guardian angel is that what you think thanks Peter if I'm to look at Peter for example every time I look over at like 10 minutes before the half hour he's the first guy standing there with his cup waiting Y and all it seems that he's learned from this place is now I know at what time I'm going to get my glass of wine so when I look at Peter I look at somebody that was using Emergency Services probably on a daily basis maybe sometimes two or three times a day I see a success story from Peter and Peter does have his challenges and it's going to take a while but I think that it might be 5 years it might be 10 years but we'll be able to move a oute into more independent housing you you feel confident about that yeah from where he is today and where he come from it's a world of difference so we just got one more world to go years of drinking have badly damage these people so why not push harder to wean them off the drink that is slowly killing them but as I'm pouring this out you know an hour after hour I mean for for a lot of people here they're having just about three bottles of wine a day yeah you're a doctor absolutely this is not good for anyone yes it's less than they were drinking before but doctor they're still drinking almost three bottles of wine a day every day precisely right this is um not good for anybody and we see the consequences of that they're drinking less than they were um but what did what do you do when somebody doesn't can't or won't stop drinking do you then abandon them and uh we don't do that in paliative care when somebody's failed their chemotherapy we don't say we can't do anything further we say no we can still care for you when I look at some of the the older residents here I am the S of hit with the feeling that that it seems to me that the program the best they can offer is like dying with Dignity here yeah is is that unfair uh no I don't think that's unfair it's very likely that the alternative for them is no dignity and dying good let's do our next stretch so we're going to go ear to the shoulder and hold to the I'm looking for a little hope and then I meet Karin she's been at the Oaks for 6 years now where would you be if you weren't here dead I would have drank myself to death or she's not sober but she has stopped going for the hourly pour it's been eight months not drinking the wine every hour and why did you decide to not drink the wine every hour because I was tired of getting sick all the time I don't miss that hourly clock of you know oh it's 2:30 go yeah you know I'm standing in that long lineup and what what difference has this place made in your life I have my family back I've got Mom and Dad you know and and I treasure that I owe the Shepherds my life I do for giving it back to me sure these are the worst of the worst but alcohol doesn't discriminate it devastates the lives of the poor and the privileged maybe that's why this program for chronic alcoholics has attracted interest from the UK the Netherlands and all the way to Australia this is a massive problem um it has huge personal impact it has huge health impact and economic impact so um I'm impressed that uh this is one of the major challenges that we face that U mental health and addiction is something that we need to be ahead of and start to you know seriously address as a community we can't afford it's not it's the right thing to do is to help these people but we can't afford not to their survival has been chiseled out of hardship but Jimmy the guy who slept under a truck for months reminds me even in hard places sometimes a flower can grow hey Budd what do you got well I made this last year for uh one of the ladies here you made this it's made out of paper colored tissue paper that's awesome Jimmy how did you do that I made a few bucks making them when I was on the street you know enough to get me through the day right you never know where Rose will grow Jimmy the only good rose is a sold Rose

Channel: The Fifth Estate

Views: 196,132

Keywords: alcoholic, alcoholism, Ottawa, harm reduction, managed alcohol program, CBC News, CBC, the fifth estate, Mark Kelley

Id: 3KleSSdjqX0

Length: 24min 21sec (1461 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 07 2017