Ignoring the problems of alcohol abuse among Madison's homeless residents is an impossibility. An estimated five to eight homeless people die in Madison each year, some from alcohol abuse. During each of the past two winters, intoxicated homeless people have died from the cold after being rejected from shelters.
Homeless shelters, as overcrowded as they are now, cannot afford the space, time or money to take on those who are intoxicated, nor can they condone alcohol abuse. Shelters do all they can with the scarce resources available to them.
A recent proposal by Steven Schooler, executive director of Porchlight, Inc., would establish a separate \wet"" shelter, which would help the homeless overcome their substance abuse problems. Because the needs of the intoxicated homeless are unmet, such a shelter is necessary.
But the proposal would cost approximately $325,300 every year and would strain city and county budgets, which are already stretched thin. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said the city could not afford such a proposal yet, but promised $15,000 more in discretionary funding this year.
When the 2006 city budget is drafted, however, this shelter must be taken seriously as an option. Proponents of the wet shelter should continue to push for the project, and, though it seems an impossibility right now, the wet shelter proposal should be approved as quickly as possible.
