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Icoholism: I

are than \a- lost weekend -

By Vic MacBoumie Iv .i, ' ck door opened and standingvalone”in the darkness ck porch was a man propped up against the wooden I keep from collapsing in a drunken stupor. d only three words, but it was the three words Bob

, Director of Hamilton’s Detox Center, wanter to '

‘I want help.” _ ' reg't’he three most important words an alcoholic can outé to sobriety, and for Bob. Mallway, they are the gum first step, to rehabilitation. \ eyi‘to'recOVettyfis you have a sickness, . is achieved, there hopefhat the alcoholic will oncerited. effort to comizaihis'orher problem. ny theimen‘ thaj“’iffivé‘at Mallway’s back door ght there either- by the police or by friends, relatives oyers. They are brought in, given food, a place to d counselling. Although they may desperately need ey find it difficult to accept because it would mean trance to alcoholism which many of these mendo not hey suffer from. I ' sits back in his chair, his‘ closely cropped hair and ture gives.him the appearance of an army sergeant .; over his troops. hen one of his residents steps into his office to thank

the help'he has received during his stay, and asks,

r' to help him 'find a job, a look, of understanding across MallWay’s face —‘a look (and understanding

another alcoholic could have. . ray knows how the alcoholic feels because he, like the ht staffers that work with him at the Detox Center, n through it all (before. But their task is great. Every

different, winger different set of problems and at

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8 alone, Canada had an estimated 635,000 addicted cs. That figure represents one alcoholic for every 20 , Today Mallway estimates that one in every 13 , are alcoholics.

olism takes in every facet of life.

'ay explained that he sees every kind of person in the

have everything in here; judges, doctors, lawyers, the lowest man on skid row.”

holism is on every street corner in town it’s the one social disease, it wrecks homes, lives, jobs, , than any other single factor in the world today,”

ecent report‘completed by Statistics Canada, a heavy is defined as someone who consumes 14 or more er week. Mallway defined an alcoholic person in a actical way explaining that it is a “physical allergy with a mental compulsion.”

have to have that allergy first,” said Mallway. “You ' are a lot of people walking around who never drink Id be an alcoholic. They might have all the behaviour of an alcoholic, but because they don’t drink they are holics.” ‘ ' '

way to find out if you are an alcoholic is to look back

last 18 months of your life and if you recognize a'

ownward trend in respect to your job, family life, hips, career goals, or education, and these can be d to alcohol, then there is a good chance you are E an alcoholic.” ‘ 01 consumption is on a steady increase in Canada g to the Statistics Canada report.

1978 the average adult Canadian 15 years and older “any consuming 2.56 gallons of absolute alcohol d with under two gallons in 1970. This represents an of one third in National per capita consumption,” rt said. .

De of alcohol consumption has also changed over the

Years with-a declinein beer sales and on ongoing .

in wine consumption. Apparent factors such as 8. more drinking by women, and life-style factOrs increased drinking Wiiii meals are indicative of ter increases Of consumption for wine and spirits.

Port found that the sharpest increase in usage occurs ‘lthe low?!” and upper“ teens for both males and With the current rise ,foffemales being steeper than

em ~ ,.,.

males.

The increasing number of women in the work force, and the pressure that it brings has contributed to the growing female alcohol consumption rate, but little has been done to provide women with the same rehabilitation centers as men enjoy. . \

Therese Spegle, Director of Catherine Brock, a halfway house for women that deals with female alcoholics in Hamilton, agrees that the facilities for women are lacking.

“We don’t have enough programs for women. We need more daytime programs for the housewives,” she said.

She also pointed out that women alcoholics must travel to Toronto or London for detoxification centers. She said that alcohol is affecting the younger people between the ages of 18—25 who have developed a dual addiction to both street drugs and alcohol.

Most of the young women she worked with began their drinking at an early age of 13—15 and by the time they reach their late teens, they have already become alcoholics. Most of them are high school drop-outs she said.

Despite the growing problem of alcoholism, there are many

established organizations to assist the alcoholic. The most prominent and successful being Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

But it is the detox centers that often point the person suffering from alcoholism in the direction of these other programs.

The Hamilton Detox Center began in ‘9” after the Ontario government recognized that it made sense dollar—wise to establish detox centers rather than putting alcoholics in jail or in hospitals.

Rod McEwan, assistant director of Hamilton’s Detox Center said that in 1972 it cost the government approximately $50 to keep a person in jail overnight and $150 in the hospital, whereas a detox center could provide the service for $13.50.

Staff sergeant Gerry Malcolmson of the Hamilton- Wentworth police force, responsible for the community

' services department said “It is a matter of dealing with the

victim (alcoholic) as a human being. On the sidewalk they are often considered by people in the community to be repulsive, but locking them in jail accomplishes nothing.

“The detox center treats the victim,” said Malcolmson.

Reprinted from the Silhouette by Canadian University Press

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