Free Drinks Help Homeless Alcoholics?

Free drinks could actually help improve the health of homeless alcoholics according to one study in Canada. The full article can be found here.
A quick summary:

• Seventeen chronic alcoholics were offered a glass of wine or sherry every hour from 7 AM to 10 PM.
• 3 quit, 3 died from alcohol related disease, and the other 11 had improved health, sleep, and hygiene.
• The participants had fewer encounters with the police and fewer hospital visits.

My $0.02: This actually makes sense when you think about it. These chronic drinkers weren't going to quit drinking alcohol completely in an abstinence program. This program gave them a way to still get alcohol, but it is was in a controlled form. Programs like this could help chronic alcoholics quit drinking without going cold turkey.