The Rathcoole Experiment

Abstract

At the present time the vagrant alcoholic in this country is subject to repeated arrest and short-term imprisonment for drunkenness and allied offences. It is not difficult to find men who have had more than 100 short prison sentences. Unfor tunately, there seem to be few facilities for attempting more constructive rehabilitation. Rathcoole House was established in an attempt to show that there can be a more humane yet effective way of dealing with the Skid Row problem. There were two sources of financial help. Firstly, a grant provided by the Carnegie Trust, and, secondly, the grant paid by the Home Office for people living in aftercare hostels. The hostel is situated in the densely populated South London suburb of Clapham. In January 1966, when Rathcoole was first rented from the Greater London Council for the purpose of setting up a hostel, it was a derelict eight-roomed Victorian private house scheduled for demolition. Four months later the house had been decorated and fully furnished, mainly by the efforts of various voluntary organiza tions. The warden then took up residence and no difficulty was experienced in finding the full complement of vagrant alcoholics. The house thus began to function fully during the summer of 1966 under the general guidance of a management committee which included social workers, probation officers, and psychiatrists.