Alcohol Treatment in Red Deer, Alberta
General Situation
Red Deer as city is a close approximation of the demographic makeup Canada. A diverse collection of many peoples and varying classes, it is an important place to look at when evaluating Canada's alcohol situation.
Red Deer's youthfulness and easily availability of alcohol can make for dire outcomes. Problems that wouldn't arise with an older demographic such as rowdiness and public drunkenness are more likely to arise here. Without careful and prompt investigation and response the current stability and prosperity is likely to suffer.
Teenage Alcohol Problems
Teens face trying times in an era of ever easier access to alcohol. The majority of those over the age of 15 drink alcohol. Without the proper lessons in how to behave responsibly when alcohol is involved they are likely to end up in violent confrontations. Fights in public are more commonly products of drunkenness than other sources.
Drunken violence leaves more than just bruised egos. It can lead to costly hospital visits and time spent out of school and work. Though many proclaim to condemn teen drunkenness, they also condone teen drinking. The line of thought being that the primary way to learn how to drink responsibly is a form of trial and error where some drunkenness is almost unpreventable. A more hands on approach could slow the rise of teen alcohol abuse and consequently adult alcohol abuse, but it would require more participation from those closest to the teens.
Driving While Impaired
Intoxicated driving is one of the biggest problems facing Red Deer. Every year innocent people are killed by impaired drivers. Impaired driving often has a far larger affect on those not behind the wheel of the vehicle. Within the last year multiple children have been orphaned in Red Deer due to other driving while impaired.
Cracking down on the problem is limited by prison overcrowding. Officials often have to balance overcrowded prisons, an ever rising number of intoxicated drivers, and limited funds to both find and punish those who drink and drive. Stiff sentencing can only happen when the resources are available to make sure the sentences can be carried out.
The lack of public transportation in Red Deer only further exacerbates the problem. While someone may go out drinking on a Friday night the only way for them to get home late is to drive themselves or have someone else drive them. Many choose the former as the latter creates logistical issues. Without a safe way to get home after drinking people simply choose to behavior dangerously.
Once a person has been brought in for endangering the lives of others there are tactics used to lighten their sentences. Once of the most common is to drag the case out for as long as possible as faded memories reduce the feelings involved. Such techniques also have the consequence of costing more in tax payer dollars and already limited court room time.
Treating Alcoholic Addictions
Currently treating alcohol dependencies falls to government funded programs. These programs are walking a tightrope between providing the best care possible to those in need and keeping within their budgets. Some are unsure where money for the months ahead will come from; others are wondering whether it will come at all.
Problems have arisen where the programs designed to help people and not turn a quick profit are being treated in a more business like fashion. There are issues with people expecting immediate results and funding being allocated as such. Without proper funding and patience the true benefits of alcohol treatment programs in Alberta can't come to fruition.
Activism
The current circumstances have given rise to more grassroots efforts to help curb the problems that arise with alcohol abuse. Mayor Morris Flewwelling declared November as a month to support MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Spurred on by losses and injuries of those close to them MADD members try to educate people about the dangers of drinking while intoxicated.
The overall effect such efforts will have is unknown, but participants believe that effort put forth is worth it even to stop a single drunk driver. The Red Deer chapter of MADD sees much importance in keeping the public consistently reminded of the consequences of reckless behavior. The linchpin though is the public's acceptance and embracing the movement to condemn impaired driving.
