Alcohol Rehab Can be an Alternative to Jail

There is an increasing understanding of alcohol addiction as being something that takes a grip on the victim and has the ability to destroy the victim’s life as well as that of others such as family and friends around who care for and/or depend on that person. As an addiction with powerful mental and physical triggers this is something that can be a constant battle which the person may be at the losing end of, unless they consider getting help such as in the form of alcohol abuse rehab.

When a person has been involved in an incident where they have broken the law when under the influence of alcohol, or indirectly due to an addiction, the judge has the discretion of substituting a jail sentence with an alcohol rehab program. This is usually at the discretion of the judge; however sometimes the accused themselves are given the option by the court to decide if this is the correct option for them.  It is a way for a person to realize that they have a problem, that that problem is creating in turn more problems and that there is help required for this.

This initiative of an alcohol rehab facility versus jail, was started when the problems of overcrowding of jails became a contentious issue. There was also a dawning realization that jail was not a solution for a person who was battling the demons of alcohol abuse and dependence. There is a better understanding of the fact that society as a whole is better benefitted by a person who is in an alcohol rehab program than sitting in prison serving a jail sentence. This is being recognized as a more proactive, more positive solution to legal infractions which are committed by individuals who have alcohol dependence issues.

Alcohol rehab as an alternative to jail is an acknowledgement of a fact that jail is not a solution to a person’s drug problem; that incarceration won’t make their addiction go away.  It is also not conducive to a person’s rehabilitation to have them removed from society which may actually make their return into the community even more difficult perhaps making this a trigger for even more problems associated with their addiction which has remained unresolved in the meantime. An alcohol rehab program is better able to facilitate a person’s transition back into a community.

This is not something that is to be viewed as an escape though, and repeat offenders would not receive the kind of leniency that this programs is thought to offer.  The program ought to be viewed in the spirit and for the cause that it seeks to serve; to offer the option of correction and betterment for a life that may rapidly be skidding off the rails. Rather, this is an opportunity for a better life that is more in consonance with society and those around; an opportunity to reform for one’s own sake and that of near and dear ones.