Stations of the Lost: The Treatment of Skid Row Alcoholics [Paperback]

When first published in 1970,Stations of the Lostwon the C. Wright Mills Award for Best Book in the Area of Social Problems. The study considers the Skid Row alcoholic from two points of view, that of the alcoholic himself and that of the agents of social control who treat him. A major discovery of Wiseman's research was that Skid Row men spend only about one third of the year on Skid Row. The rest of the time is spent making the loop —going from Skid Row to city jail, to county jail, to the state mental hospital, to the missions, and back to Skid Row. While these facilities are designed to handle or rehabilitate Skid Row men, they are actually used by these men as a means of survival.

Jacqueline P. Wisemanis professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. She has contributed articles to numerous publications, includingThe Encyclopedic Handbook of Alcoholism, Family Study Review Yearbook,andThe Family in Change.

List of Tables
List of Figures
Foreword
Preface to the Phoenix Edition
Preface
Acknowledgements
I. Skid Row and Supporting Institutions
1. Skid Row: The Professional Overview and the Participant Close-up
Introduction
The Professionals' View of Skid Row
Skid Row as Residents See It
Multiple Realities and the Insight Phenomenon
2. Making the Rehab Route: Dual Perspectives on Rehabilitation Agencies
Introduction
Control and Containment Versus Therapy and Rehabilitation
The Routing Dilemma
Underground Conveyor Systems
II. Strategies of Control and Containment
3. Policing Skid Row and Keeping the Peace: The Dilemma of Handling the Socially Unattached
Introduction
The Police View Their Assignment
The Row Man Views the Police
4. The Judicial Screening Process: Reinforcement of the Policeman's Decision
Introduction
Drunk Court—The Adult Parallel to Juvenile Court, Sentencing as alS+