Low Income Alcohol Detox Centers
Recovery from alcohol abuse and addiction oftentimes necessitates access to a medically supervised alcohol detox center. The reality is that the costs associated with alcohol detox can be significant in the private sector. Therefore, there are some low income alcohol detox centers available in many communities across the United States today.
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History
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Prior to the 1980s, in many communities across the United States, the only option an economically disadvantaged person had for detox was the so-called drunk tank at the local jail. Indeed, the concept of the necessity of alcohol detox is of fairly recent origin. Beginning in the 1980s, a growing number of communities established different types of low income detox centers. These centers were established by both not-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies.
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Function
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The primary functions of low income alcohol detox centers are threefold. The primary function is to allow a person to go through the initial stages of withdrawal from alcohol in a medically supervised and controlled setting. The second function is to allow an individual with an alcohol addiction the ability to stabilize physically sufficiently to be able to enter an inpatient or outpatient treatment program. Finally, in some instances, the goal of a low income center is merely to get a person stable enough to be able to return home without any immediate physical health risk.
Types
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The most basic type of low income alcohol detox center is one run by a local governmental agency or a not-for-profit organization that strives to physically stabilize a patient sufficient to allow for referral to another treatment program. These are freestanding facilities not linked directly to any type of comprehensive treatment or recovery center.
The other type of low income detox center is one that is a part of a comprehensive treatment facility. In such a center, a patient not only is able to obtain medically supervised detox but then will continue at the facility to either an outpatient or inpatient treatment program.
Time Frame
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The period in which a person with an alcohol addiction spends in a detox facility varies. The alcohol detox process can last from a couple of days to a week. If a person requires alcohol detox, he is in need of broader and more comprehensive treatment. A course of treatment following detox can run for a matter a two to three months on a part-time basis as an outpatient. An inpatient treatment program can extend to about one month.
Misconceptions
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A common misconception amongst both abusers of alcohol and the general population is that a person does not have to detox from alcohol. The reality is that a person who abuses likely has a physical addiction to the substance. Withdrawal from alcohol is a physically traumatic undertaking that requires appropriate medical supervision.
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