Alcohol Treatment in Calgary, Alberta
General Situation
Calgary is a large city and that has large city problems. This fact grows true everyday as Calgary certainly isn't slowing in growth. Calgary may be an economic force to be reckoned with, but with so many people still jobless after the economic downturn alcohol abuse rates have taken a turn for the worse.
The recent renovation of the downtown area has certainly positively impacted the city. New development and renovation is boon not only for city residents, but also the fight against prostitution and alcohol abuse. People are likely to commit alcohol fueled crimes in clean, well taken care of neighborhoods.
Teenage Alcohol Situation
Most teens can get alcohol far easier in Calgary than in other smaller cities and towns. Between young adults with flexible morals and homeless persons looking for a way to earn a few dollars there is no shortage of willing adults to buy them alcohol. Thing are only made worse by the ever present drunken celebrities who push public drunkenness further into the realm of acceptability. By 12th grade most teens consider themselves current drinkers, whereas less than one in five does in 7th grade. Prevention education needs to start earlier as to head off alcohol abuse rather than try to stop it after it has already started.
Calgary also skews about 5 years younger than Canada as a whole. This makes for a more youthful city. Programs to educate teens and young adults specifically must be formed to curb brash tendencies. Without specifically targeting those who are still forming ideas about how to behavior when inebriated there will always be steady supply of older people who behave inappropriately.
The saving grace for teens in Calgary is the availability of a means of transportation should they end up intoxicated. Again Calgary's public transport system provides an unforeseen benefit. A potential way to better utilize this asset would be to decrease the cost to ride between certain hours. If driving while impaired can also be seen as bad financial decision it could dissuade alcohol users from becoming abusers.
Driving While Impaired
Impaired driving is a problem Calgary is needs to solve. The deaths due to reckless individuals affect everyone. The number of deaths due to driving while impaired has risen in lock step with population increases and joblessness. Everyday there are more and more stories of impaired drivers on the roads endangering themselves and other drivers.
One of the primary limiting factors for drunk driving in Calgary is the availability of public transportation. Although the system as it stands is sufficient for the locations it runs to, Calgary's growth outpaces it. As Calgary becomes an ever more massive sprawl the only way to stop people from driving while intoxicated is to give them an alternative means of transport.
Another means of decreasing the prevalence of drunk driving is continuing to increase population density in the downtown areas. Increased population density makes walking home a realistic possibility. It also increases the profitability and availability of taxi cabs. Increased pedestrian traffic has the added benefit of decreasing the amount of space police have to patrol to oversee those who go out drinking.
Treating Alcohol Abuse
Calgary's health infrastructure is often heads and tails above other cities, but so are its needs. Calgary has some of the best treatment available for alcoholism. In conjunction with its public transport system it also makes them very accessible. This is a connection that other cities could learn a good deal from.
Problems do arise when you have those who go in for alcohol abuse treatment being spilled over into hospital beds, because of the little space in the hospitals already. This balancing act of keeping at just under capacity can put stresses on staff the decrease the effectiveness of treatment. Earlier alcohol treatment programs in Alberta and prevention go into stopping this issue. Educating teens and young adult could stop them from ending up in an expensive treatment program.
An often under examined facet of alcohol abuse is the consequences of abuse by pregnant women. They endanger not only themselves, but also their unborn child. Children born to mothers who abused alcohol are more likely to abuse it themselves. It also increases the chances that they will spend time in expensive post natal care from something that was completely preventable. It may then be important to pay special attention to women of child bearing age who need treatment for alcohol abuse.
