San Francisco's Controversial "Managed Alcohol Program" Provides Free Beer and Vodka to Homeless Alcoholics

The program aims to keep homeless off the streets and relieve emergency services, but critics question if it's the best use of taxpayer funds.

The City of San Francisco has embarked on a controversial experiment by providing free beer and vodka shots to homeless alcoholics at taxpayer expense under a little-known pilot program. The "Managed Alcohol Program," operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, serves regimented doses of alcohol to voluntary participants with alcohol addiction in an effort to keep them off the streets and relieve the city's overburdened emergency services.

While experts argue that the program can save or extend lives, detractors wonder if the government would be better off investing in treatment and sobriety programs instead. The program, established during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been expanded into a 20-bed program operating out of a former hotel in Tenderloin with a $5 million annual budget.

Clients are provided with a motel room, three meals a day, and enough alcohol "to meet their addiction needs, but keeping someone at a safe level of intoxication," according to program literature. The initial success in stabilizing alcoholic patients prompted health officials to expand the pilot into a long-term program, with beds specifically earmarked for the Latinx and indigenous population.

Social workers connect clients to primary care doctors, assist with securing government identification, and facilitate psychiatric care and evidence-based treatments. "We actually connect them to different community-based organizations that assist us with conducting art groups, poetry groups, and just kind of help them explore ways that they can express themselves," said program social worker Bryce Bridge.

However, the program came under scrutiny after Salvation Army San Francisco CEO Adam Nathan criticized it on social media, claiming that homeless participants were walking in and grabbing beers freely from on-site taps. Public health officials clarified that alcohol is dispensed by a nurse and that non-participants cannot simply walk in and get free alcohol.

Despite these clarifications, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has criticized the program, arguing that it is not "reducing harm" but rather "making things far worse." Others echo her concerns, arguing that the money should be spent on detox and recovery programs instead.

Proponents of the program, including health officials, cite reduced hospital visits, police calls, and emergency room visits as evidence of its effectiveness. A 2022 study of Canada's managed alcohol programs found similar results, suggesting reduced risks of death and hospital stays for homeless people with severe alcoholism.

The San Francisco managed alcohol program is part of a growing trend towards managed alcohol programs in other countries, including Canada, Portugal, and the U.K. However, the program has received mixed reactions in the U.S., with some critics questioning its efficacy and potential for abuse.

As the program continues to operate and data is collected, it remains to be seen whether it will be considered a successful intervention in addressing the complex issue of homelessness and alcohol addiction in San Francisco.