What Alcohol Addiction Costs the Community
Alcohol addiction costs the person who struggles with the disease in innumerable ways, but it costs the community as well. The financial costs are exorbitantly high, costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year to provide the proper legal assistance, medical care and damage control needed. More and more often, community members and law enforcement officials are becoming proponents of alcohol rehab care for alcohol-related offenses and those who present with obvious signs of addiction instead of incarceration and other legal action. Far less expensive and far more effective, alcohol rehab can provide patients with real progress and help them create a new life for themselves that doesn’t include legal problems and chronic health issues.
If you would like to learn more about the alcohol rehab options here at Michael’s House, contact us now. Find out what you need to know about our Palm Springs alcohol rehab today.
Alcohol Addiction Costs the Community Money and Time
Taxpayers invest in their city’s medical facilities and court system and then depend upon state funding – also supported by taxpayers – for the rest of what they need. When these services are overrun and overworked due to alcohol and drug-related cases, it can drain the coffers dry, leaving little for those who need to utilize these services for other purposes.
- Court costs. Salaries for judges, utilities and associated bills with running the court, lawyers, personnel, court clerks, etc. All these costs are covered by state and city budgets.
- Medical costs. Many alcoholics don’t have insurance and when there are accidents caused by alcohol, it’s the taxpayer who pays.
- Time at court. Many court systems are overrun with cases. In many instances, it can take months to get a court date, dragging out the length of time it takes to hear and decide a case and extending the amount of time that those who can’t afford bail end up spending in jail.
- Jail costs. It’s very expensive to keep someone in jail. The salaries of the guards and medical professionals, the cost of food, clothing, care, etc. – it’s far more expensive to maintain someone’s basic day-to-day care in jail for a year than to provide them with an alcohol rehab experience that can change their lives.
Providing alcoholics with the treatment is far less expensive that continually maintaining other city and state medical and legal services for the purposes of corralling the effects of alcohol addiction. When alcohol addiction treatment is effective, it means that the patients can heal and return home to get jobs and support their community in a positive way – now we’re not only saving money by choosing alcohol rehab but putting more money into the system when the recovered alcoholic becomes self-supporting, healthy and able to become a tax-paying member of society as well.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment at Michael’s House
Michael’s House offers alcohol detox, alcohol addiction treatment and sober living in Palm Springs, California. Call us now to pick the program that’s right for you and your family.
