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The use of shelters as substance abuse stabilization sites

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Abstract

The feasibility of providing postdetoxification residential substance abuse programming (stabilization) in large emergency shelters was examined as part of a demonstration project funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Aubse and Alcoholism under Section 613 of the Stewart B. McKinney Act (Public Law 100-71). The program completion rates of 773 homeless/near-homeless substance-abusing individuals assigned to two large shelters (71% and 62%) and two traditional substance abuse treatment agencies (68% and 54%) were comparable. These data support the expansion of shelter service to include substance abuse programming and intervention. Shelters represent windows of opportunity into the lives of homeless substance-abusing men and women, and full advantage of this opportunity should be taken to impact this subgroup of the homeless.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stabilization Services Project, 200 Lincoln Street, Suite 303, Boston, MA, 0211

    Milton Argeriou Ph.D. (Project Director)

  2. Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Massachusetts, USA

    Dennis McCarty Ph.D. (Director)

Authors
  1. Milton Argeriou Ph.D.
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  2. Dennis McCarty Ph.D.
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Additional information

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by grant No. R18 AA 007915-02 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

An earlier, abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Nov. 10–14, 1991, Atlanta, Ga.

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Argeriou, M., McCarty, D. The use of shelters as substance abuse stabilization sites. The Journal of Mental Health Administration 20, 126–137 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02519237

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