Managed alcohol program in the low-threshold daily facility in the City of Brno, Czech Republic.

In the spring 2019 - in the very beginning of pandemic of COVID-19 - there was a strong need to enable long term access for homeless people with high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder to social and health service from which they were often excluded, mostly due to restrictions on alcohol use in facilities providing services.

Low-threshold daily facility offering various services – including food, access to showers, counselling, case management, basic health care a free-time activities – was in the very beginning enhanced with possibility of consumption of brought alcohol and lately transformed to an managed alcohol programme (MAP) which had found inspiration in Canadian MAPs model.

MAP fully started in September 2020 and until the end of 2021 included more than 130 indicated individuals. Study sample of 40 individuals, was observed and evaluated in several domains (rate of alcohol use control, physical health, mental health, common day-to-day activities, finance, housing and motivation for change). Main benefits of the MAP were stabilization of health condition and rate of social exclusion, stabilization and reduction of alcohol consumption and improving conditions for cooperation and motivation for change.

Based on the current results we found this type of intervention based on principles of harm reduction, pragmatism and person centred attitude highly profitable for individuals and society.