Night Shelter For Alcoholics Proposed

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30739, 1 May 1965, Page 21

Night Shelter For Alcoholics Proposed

The trustees of the Christchurch Methodist Central Mission will consider establishing a night shelter for alcoholics. The associate minister of the mission (the Rev. D. W. Edmonds) told the board of management that Christchurch had no place where a drunken man could And a bed except in “some very low dives in the east of the city.” He had “broken all the rules” by letting men who were under the influence of drink sleep in the mission church hall, and once even in the church. “But we can't go on doing this. We should provide a hut or some other shelter where a fellow could sleep off the effects of alcohol,” said Mr Edmonds. “We need to show compassion to a man right up to the point where he is obnoxious and stinking.” The mission, in spite of its successes in helping some alcoholics, had many failures—men and a few women who, although they tried desperately to keep away from liquor, did not manage to do so, Mr Edmonds said. Battles Fail "Many of them fight to overcome the craving for alcohol, but have plenty of lapses and sink into remorse each time they start drinking again,” he said. “A lot of these folk stay in inferior digs or else just exist There should be somewhere satisfactory for them to go even while they are still under the influence of drink. They may be picked up by the police, but that is no answer.” The mission superintend-

ent (the Rev. W. E. Falkingbam) said the whole matter would have to be gone into very carefully to try to overcome an obvious drawback—that if a hut were provided and were known about there might “never be a vacancy.” A permanent attendant would be essential.

“Is Christchurch large enough to think in terms of a night shelter?” he asked. “Moreover, is one helping by providing such a shelter, or is this just encouraging some persons to become dependent? “In Sydney I have seen night shelters in operation: the alcoholics just drift into them every night and lose any desire they ever had to remake their lives. “I would long to do something for fellows who are really trying to get sober: but is a simple night shelter the best way?” The meeting decided to instruct the board of trustees to look into the proposal.