`DRUNK FARM' WOULD SAVE CITY MILLIONS

Benefit Said To Be Worth $740,000 A Year

A proposed ``drunk farm'' aimed at chronic homeless alcoholics would
save taxpayers millions of dollars, Toronto's head of community
services says.

The city's hostel department wants the most troublesome cases, often
in need of medical aid, to volunteer for a special rural centre where
they could improve their health while still drinking.

Because of their frequent brushes with police, ambulance service, fire
department and the court and medical systems, homeless alcoholics are
a large drain on taxpayers, says Shirley Hoy, the city's commissioner
of community and neighbourhood services.

Moving the worst cases to a place where they could do farm work and
get counselling would save far more than the $740,000 annual cost, Hoy
said.

``It's not a magical farm where they can do some drinking,'' Hoy said
in an interview.

``We've got to test different approaches to cut the cycle of
homelessness. If you don't, you're going to be paying forever. But the
key is to take them out of their regular environment.''

The concept evolved from the Seaton House annex program, a ``wet''
hostel project where chronic alcoholics are allowed to bring alcohol
in with them at night.

Hostel officials found that some drinkers would rather stay outside,
even on the most frigid winter nights, than give up their booze to get
a bed.

The project was controversial, but officials soon found that the
50-bed facility was full every night, winter and summer. Some people
had to be turned away.

The hostel department points to its case study of three alcoholic men
who use the Seaton House annex program and are often in trouble with
police or need medical help.

One is barred from every shelter in the city except the annex, and has
been in and out of Seaton House for 10 years. In one year, the
ambulance and fire departments were sent out on calls about him 27
times, while police ``had 32 official interactions'' with him.

PANHANDLING

Local businesses ``have written letters to police claiming this
individual alone is costing them thousands of dollars per year because
of his aggressive panhandling and penchant to pass out in front of
businesses that refuse to give him money to go away,'' the report says.

Using official records, the city estimates the cost to taxpayers to
deal with this man for one year is $112,000.

Another case has had 47 interactions with police in one year and
shoplifts solvents for sniffing so often that it's pointless to arrest
him. The estimated annual cost to taxpayers is $186,000.

The third man has been on the street 18 years, is arrested weekly for
public drunkeness and emergency services have had to respond to him 54
times in one year. The estimated annual cost to help him is $151,000.

The total savings to taxpayers is about $450,000 annually, Hoy said,
adding that savings from a 15-to-20-bed pilot project would be much
greater than the $740,000 cost.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry