![]() |
|
![]() Marion Hagerman, 54, is a chronic alcoholic who lives at a "wet house," a state-funded residence where he's allowed to drink.
May 6th, 2011
07:38 AM ET
Where alcoholics can drink themselves to deathLearn more about the controversial "wet house" concept for dealing with chronic alcoholics this Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on "Sanjay Gupta, MD." St. Paul, Minnesota (CNN) - It's been over seven years since Marion Hagerman has spoken to anyone in his family. As he huddles behind a parked trailer on a cold early spring day, Hagerman reflects on his life, and recalls what led him to this moment. "This is my lifestyle," says Hagerman, 54, while sneaking a swig of what he calls "wash," or mouthwash - a cheap way of getting intoxicated. "It ain't much, but this is what I have. It sucks. " He says he held a steady job for 20 years, before his addiction to alcohol took over his life. Today, Hagerman lives at St. Anthony Residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, along with about 60 other late-stage alcoholics. St. Anthony, which receives funds from the state and is operated by Catholic Charities, is known as a "wet house" because Hagerman and the others are allowed to drink on site, with some caveats - including no mouthwash. The theory is that it's better to allow these guys to drink in a safe place than to end up on the streets and in the city's emergency rooms, jails, and detox centers. At St. Anthony, they have access to nurses - and doctors if the situation warrants - plus on-site case managers to aid in their addiction. Ideally, St. Anthony's counselors want the residents to sober up - but they realize that there isn't a strong chance of that happening. St. Paul isn't the only city that has a "wet house"-style residence - Seattle was one of the first cities to put this concept into practice in 2005, and Memphis is considering building one, too. Another argument in favor of the concept is that it saves money. Each St. Anthony's resident costs about $18,000 a year to house and feed, about $1,500 a month. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that if these men were out on the street, it could cost over $4,000 a month in incarceration, shelter and sobering center use, hospital-based medical services, publicly funded alcohol and drug detoxification and treatment, and emergency medical services. But the idea of allowing alcoholics to drink is antithetic to the basic tenets of addiction counseling. "We feel that that it's never too late, and that even if the alcoholic doesn't want help, doesn't mean that their drinking should be condoned or in any other way enabled or facilitated," says William Cope Moyers, public advocacy executive director for Hazelden addiction treatment centers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. "I see the wet house model as a model that enables the addict in the alcoholic to continue those destructive patterns." Moyers, who is the son of well-known journalist Bill Moyers, has chronicled his own struggle in his book, "Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption." His opposition to the wet house concept is commonplace among addiction counselors. St. Anthony Residence program manager Bill Hockenberger calls the wet house a "harm reduction model," instead of a treatment center. He says by giving these men a home - men who have all gone through nearly every treatment numerous times - it gets them off the streets. The added comfort of having a place to call home at night and the dignity that restores in the men in return, he says, leads men to drink less. "They didn't want to be an alcoholic," he said. "A lot of them just didn't have a choice in the matter ... this provides safe secure housing for those most in need. We are in business to do the humane thing." Hagerman, like a lot of the other St. Anthony residents, says he'd like to eventually leave and find a job. But he feels like he's stuck. "No I don’t want to stay there, I'd like to get a goddamn job and get the hell outta there," he says. "Jesus Christ, I turn 55 in September, I'm getting old. Who wants to hire a 55-year-old man?" Like a lot of the residents, Hagerman's addiction to alcohol not only keeps him out of a job - it keeps him away from his family, too. Just weeks after he learned his brother Jerry died from a heart attack, he learned that another brother, Mike, is in the hospital, dying from colon cancer. I give him a ride to the hospital, where he visits Mike and sits down with his other brother, Ray, for the first time in seven years. It's an awkward conversation, as Ray talks about Marion, seated next to him, as if he's not even there. "It's like we did kind of wash our hands [of] him when our parents died," Ray says. "We weren't going to take care of him. I'm glad to see that he's still alive because none of us were sure if he was. Always looked on the streets to see if I would see him somewhere." Ray says isn't sure what a "wet house" is, but seems to be OK with the idea. "I don’t think he's ever gonna stop drinking," Ray says. "No, no, I'm not going to," Marion responds, as if to remind Ray he's sitting right there. "My lifestyle keeps me alive." "Yeah it also keeps you separated from everybody in the last years of their lives," his brother says. The day after the visit, Mike succumbs to colon cancer. "It's my life. That's as far as it goes," Marion says a few days later, as he seeks to numb himself from the pain of his loss. "I live here. Look at this? Do you think I’m happy with this situation? No, I can't stand it. But I have nothing else to do." Watch Sanjay Gupta MD Saturday at 4:30pm and Sunday at 7:30am ET. For the latest from Sanjay Gupta MD click here. |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. |
|
https://www.priyo.com/feed/redirection?url=https://theocrv.com/national-interstate-rv-collision-repair-shop-near-me
I blog frequently and I genuinely thank you for your content. The article has really peaked my interest. I will bookmark your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.
https://rosreestr.gov.ru/bitrix/redirect.php?event1=&event2=&event3=&goto=https://ocrvluxurycoaches.com/toy-hauler-trailer-collision-repair-shop-near-me
https://www.bioguiden.se/redirect.aspx?url=https://sprintervanrepairshop.com/services/
http://oraung02.iamgold.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=commercialvanrepairshop.com/box-truck-technician-shop-near-me
Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It's on a completely different topic
but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!
https://www.yourareacode.com/management/emailer/sections/link.php?campaign_id=5541&url=https://ocrvmotorsports.com/fleet-truck-collision-repair-shop-near-me
I blog often and I really appreciate your information. This great article has really peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details about once per week. I opted in for your Feed too.
http://www.artshub.com.au/job-apply-external/?ListingId=227894&ApplyUrl=https://ocrv.org/rv-roof-repair-near-me
https://www.luerzersarchive.com/goto/url/www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP30XltIAAk
https://the-emissary.me/lscookie/lscookie-redirect-php.php?lscookie=1&url=http3A2F2F
http://www.nutritionlifestylemedicine.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=youtube.com/channel/UChUH5GdtSzHx6V02C90mnfQ/videos
http://www.restauration-rapide.fr/Home/RedirectAdvert?advertId=438&siteId=17&departementId=0&url=Offer_Detail&redirectUrl=http://facebook.com/ocrvcenter
&Target=2&BannerId=41919&Zoneid=281&Parameters=&cos=Azlan
Hi there to every body, it's my first visit of this webpage; this blog includes amazing and actually
fine information designed for readers.
Good blog you've got here.. It’s hard to find good quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
https://www.neochallenge.biz/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=
http://www.stockhausen.org/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrv.life/pop-up-trailer-collision-repair-shop-near-me
It’s hard to find well-informed people on this subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
https://autofans.joj.sk/api/rdr.php?key=Husqvarna+Ambassador&rdr=https://ocrv.today/motorhome-fabrication-repair-near-me
تعرفه طراحی سایت شخصی در مونیکس
This design is wicked! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost
moved to start my own blog (well, almost...HaHa!) Excellent job.
I really loved what you had to say, and more than that,
how you presented it. Too cool!
Feel free to visit my homepage :: djarumtoto
http://marianvarga.sk/scripts/redirect.php?http://meganleary.com
http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/index.php?thememode=full;redirect=https://club-maserati.com/
Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with
Search Engie Optimization? I'm trying to get myy blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very good gains.
If you know of any please share. Cheers!
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~mln/teaching/cs751-s11/?method=display&redirect=http://www.meganleary.com
This is a topic which is near to my heart... Cheers! Where are your contact details though?
https://chaosns.com/link.php?url=https://meganleary.com
I’m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and amusing, and let me tell you, you've hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I came across this during my search for something regarding this.
https://admin.designguide.com/redirect.ashx?url=https://meganleary.com/
ลักษณะเด่นของ sagameหมายถึงความหลากหลายของเกมคาสิโนที่มีให้เลือกเยอะที่สุด และก็นับว่าเป็นทางเลือกสำคัญของการเล่นเกมคาสิโนออนไลน์ในยุคนี้ ที่ใช้เงินเล่นเดิมพันไม่มากมายแต่ผลตอบรับที่ได้กลับคืนมาเกินความมุ่งหวัง พวกเราเป็นเว็บไซต์ที่ยังคงรักษามาตรฐานสูงสุด รวมทั้งนึกถึงการพัฒนาระบบคาสิโนที่ตอบโจทย์สำหรับผู้เล่นอย่างดีที่สุด
พวกเราอยากให้คุณรู้สึกอุ่นใจเยอะที่สุดที่ได้เลือกใช้บริการกับพวกเรา เชื่อมั่นเล่นเกมคาสิโนออนไลน์กับ Sa Game จะไม่มีปัญหาการใช้งานทั้งยังเว็บและก็หน้าระบบเกิมพนันให้เสียอารมณ์ เล่นได้โดยตลอด
1 วัน พร้อมกับพวกเรามีทีมงานคอยให้บริการตอบเรื่องที่น่าสงสัยถ้ามีปัญหาการใช้งาน ท่านสามารถติดต่อทีมงานได้ในทันที
Hi, I do think this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will revisit once again since i have saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help other people.
http://i.ipadown.com/click.php?id=169&url=https://club-maserati.com
https://www.preissuchmaschine.de/link.asp?url=http://ocrv.xyz/
If you desire to take a great deal from this article then you have to apply these strategies to your won webpage.
When I initially left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Kudos!
http://czech-guide.aspone.cz/language.aspx?culture=cs-CZ&ReturnUrl=http://ocrv.store/
I really like it when folks come together and share ideas. Great website, continue the good work!
http://www.biyougeka.esthetic-esthe.com/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=848&url=https://meganleary.com/
Hello! I simply want to offer you a big thumbs up for your excellent info you have got right here on this post. I will be coming back to your website for more soon.
https://tapestry.tapad.com/tapestry/1?ta_partner_id=950&ta_redirect=https://arizonasvision.com/
http://www.zhouyiworld.com/home/link.php?url=https://meganleary.com
https://www.track.affclkr.com/track/clicks/3171/c627c2b89e0522dbfe9cbd2e8d2b8914736245cb75e9f0ab416db1046005?t=https://oc-rv.com
Hey! I understand this is sort of off-topic however I
needed to ask. Does operating a well-established website
like yours take a lot of work? I am completely new to writing a
blog however I do write in my diary every day. I'd like to start a blog so I
can easil share my experience and thoughts online.
Please let me know if you have any kind of ideas or tips
ffor brand new asppiring bloggers. Thankyou!
Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am going through troubles with your RSS. I don’t know why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anybody else having the same RSS issues? Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanks!!
https://www.shanghaiairport.com/ADClick.aspx?SiteID=20&ADID=1&URL=https://ocrvcenter.co/
It's remarkable designed for me to have a web site, which is helpful in support of my experience.
thanks admin
My website ... Hurensohn
May I simply just say what a relief to discover someone that actually understands what they're discussing on the web. You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people should read this and understand this side of your story. It's surprising you aren't more popular since you most certainly possess the gift.
http://navi-ohaka.com/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=1&url=https://arizonasvision.com/
This site definitely has all the info I wanted about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
http://www.ci.pittsburg.ca.us/redirect.aspx?url=http://meganleary.com/
http://emarkimg.info.arvest.com/enews/t.aspx?S=196&ID=12708&NL=2946&N=11626&SI=4386826&url=http://ocrvmotorsports.life/
http://hpsr2006.et.put.poznan.pl/link?link=http://ocrvcenter.info/
https://pixel.everesttech.net/1350/cq?ev_sid=10&ev_ltx=&ev_lx=44182692471&ev_crx=8174361329&ev_mt=b&ev_dvc=c&url=https://arizonasvision.com
I just could not depart your website before suggesting that
I actually enjoyed the standard information an individual provide in your visitors?
Is gonna be again often to inspect new posts
http://www3.valueline.com/vlac/logon.aspx?lp=https://arizonasvision.com
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful article. Thanks for providing this info.
https://svc.tds-live.com/manager/siteuser/redirector?ec=09/02/2017-Dreamon,faivolareituoisogniall’Isolad’Elba!&url=https://meganleary.com
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I'm going to recommend this web site!
https://www.payrollservers.us/sc/cookie.asp?sitealias=25925711&redirect=http://meganleary.com/
Very good article. I certainly appreciate this site. Continue the good work!
http://www.sherlock.scribblelive.com/r?u=www.club-maserati.com
cyclomune eye drop cyclosporine ophthalmic
Hello there! I just want to give you a huge thumbs up for the excellent information you've got here on this post. I'll be coming back to your website for more soon.
https://vse-doski.com/redirect/?go=https://ocrv.art/
combigan side effects generic combigan
I love it when folks get together and share opinions. Great site, stick with it!
http://www.boosterblog.es/votar-12428-11629.html?adresse=bjsnearme.com/