Fox News reported that San Francisco homeless people suffering from alcoholism can receive free vodka and beer thanks to a program that costs $5 million a year to run. The program operates out of a hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. It has been thrust into the spotlight after Adam Nathan, the CEO of an AI marketing tool named Blaze, visited the site and shared his thoughts on
X , according to the
New York Post .
"Inside the lobby, they had a [sic] kegs set up to taps where they were basically giving out free beer to the homeless who've been identified with AUD ( Alcohol Use Disorder ,)" Nathan wrote on X. "It's set up so people in the program can just walk in and grab a beer, and then another one. All day."
The tech entrepreneur pointed out on the thread that some "limited studies" have shown some "promise" in the initiative, yet he still had more than his fair share of issues with the program.
"The whole thing just doesn't feel right. Providing free drugs to drug addicts doesn't solve their problems. It just stretches them out. Where's the recovery in all this?"
Yet it appears the program's goal is not recovery at all. San Francisco health officials claim the aim of the program is to curb unsafe alcohol use, and claimed that the program reduced the city's spending by $1.7 million over a half a year due to reduced hospital visits. Emergency room visits apparently dropped by 70%. Fox claimed city officials reported five unhoused individuals with alcohol use disorder cost the city over $4 million in ambulance trips during five years, and the San Francisco Fire Department expressed support for the controversial program.
The National Library Of Medicine reported on a study of a hospital-based Managed Alcohol Program that operated out of Canada, and claimed the subjects who participated in the program reduced their consumption from 14 alcoholic drinks a day to 9. The study concluded that such programs "may be an effective safe approach to reduce harm for some individuals with severe alcohol use disorder." Yet, Tim Wolf, an individual in recovery from heroin addiction, claimed to Fox News he was not convinced about the efficacy of San Francisco's MAP.
"Are we just going to manage people's addictions with our taxpayer dollars in perpetuity forever?" he questioned to the outlet. "It seems like that's basically what we're saying. I think we should be spending that money on detox and recovery."
Officials denied Nathan's claims, saying the tech entrepreneur spread "misinformation" with his posts on X, according to the New York Post, and claimed alcohol wasn't readily available to anyone who walked in.
"As a Democrat, I'm all for directing more govt funds to programs that achieve their objectives and provide public benefits," Nathan posted at a later date. "But this isn't working. We are living in the upside down."
San Francisco's struggles with its unhoused population are nothing new. The city ranked number 10 in having the highest population of homeless people, according to
USA Facts . Number 1 was New York City and number 2 was Los Angeles, California. Factors like addiction and the cost of living within the state of California remain major drivers of the ever-increasing population of unhoused people.
Rent Cafe cites the median cost of an apartment in San Francisco as approximately $3,287 for a 739-square-foot apartment.
KRON 4 reported in February 2023 that since the Pandemic, people have been leaving San Francisco at unprecedented rates. The outlet reported many were interested in moving to Miami, Florida according to Redfin. [botmc-promo]
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