Documentary tells the story of Glenwood facility for alcoholic men

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - At the end of Glenwood Avenue, in the shadows of the ballpark where the Twins hit homeruns, is a home where many men have run out of their own bases to tag.

"It’s given me a stable place to live and a very secure feeling," said a man who goes by the name of Herman.  "I’ve been called Herman since I think kindergarten, even before that."

Herman is one of the more than 50 men who live at the Catholic Charities residential facility called Glenwood. It’s the place where men reach the end of the line through the bottom of a bottle. These are men who’ve reached end-stage alcohol addiction.

"I used to steal beer out of my garage as a kid," admits Herman about how far back his relationship with alcohol began. His father and mother always had alcohol in the house, especially in the garage where they stacked cases of White Label beer.

"Even at ten years old he’d pop a can and say you’ve earned this for mowing the yard," he recalled of his father’s payment. By the time he reached ninth grade, Herman was comfortable drinking all the time.  He’s had stints of sobriety over the years, but what he calls the dragon in the bottle kept calling.

"I ended up in detox for so many times, it was ugly," said Herman of the depth of his addiction. "And then finally the lady at detox said, I’m going to get you here. And she got me here."

At its core, Glenwood is a harm-reduction residential boarding facility that gives its residents shelter, meals, safety, and a place to drink.

"So we have meal service three times a day here, breakfast lunch, and dinner," said Emilia Lewin-Karras, Catholic Charities director of supportive housing. "All the meals are prepared here on site."

The Glenwood Residence has a capacity for up to 80 men. Their room and board is subsidized in part by Hennepin County because it actually saves taxpayer dollars. It’s cheaper for the men to stay here than the county to pay for their time in jail, detox, or at the Hennepin County Medical Center. 

For the county, it’s basic math. 

For Catholic Charities it’s simple humanity.

"The program is really designed for individuals who have had multiple attempts at treatment, have historically been frequent users of detox," said Lewin-Karras. "And for whatever reason, abstinence or recovery is really not feasible for them."

At Glenwood, the mission is harm reduction and compassion. In addition to three meals a day, Glenwood provides private rooms, a recreation room, and space to plant an outdoor garden.

"This is our back courtyard," said Lewin-Karras as she gave a tour of the facility. "This is where our residents are allowed to drink."

Alcohol is allowed in Glenwood, especially since many of the residents need to satisfy their addiction. 

Although they are not allowed to drink or store alcohol in their rooms, they do store it in a space behind the front desk. The hard liquor, mostly vodka because it’s inexpensive, is stored on a rack of shelves, one rack for each floor of rooms. On the day of our tour, the rack was mostly empty because it’s the end of the month and the residents have run out of money to buy hard liquor before the next Social Security checks arrive. But the beer cooler has more content.

"We had a lot of the residents telling us they drink liquor because they couldn’t tolerate warm beer," said Lewin-Karras about their purchase of a refrigerator. "So this is one of the ways we encourage them to make the switch from hard liquor to beer."

Their life-long addictions take a toll.  Most of the men who live at Glenwood never achieve sobriety.  But most end up drinking less once they have a stable home and sense of community. And they live longer, richer lives than if they had chosen to live on the streets.

"I’d be dead," said Herman if not for Glenwood. "There’s absolutely no question that I would drink my way into death very easily."

His own health is deteriorating. As he fights to put together words through his mouth of missing teeth, he counts the men on his floor who’ve died during their stay at Glenwood. 

"Like nine is the last couple of years," Herman said with a look of exasperation on his face. "It’s really a brutal life."

It’s a life that was captured by filmmaker Benjamin May in his documentary called "Wet House." May spent months following the lives of several men who lived at Glenwood.

"It’s a story about the kind of survival and compassion and life in this unique place," said May in an interview from his home in Seattle.

May is a neuroradiologist who once did a medical school rotation in the emergency room at HCMC where he treated an intoxicated patient who was injured.

"He sobered up, and then a couple of people from the Glenwood came and picked him up. They were wearing suits, and they took him back to his house," recalled May of the curious encounter. "And I thought to myself, who are these guys showing up and taking care of this guy?"

His questions led to a film project to document their lives and how they navigate their addiction with each other and their families.

"One of the things that was surprising to me when I went there as a documentary filmmaker was, just how every day was really a battle of life and death," said May.  "I mean, I really got the sense that these guys were kind of staring into the abyss, you know, of the end of their lives."

Catholic Charities together with the Minneapolis Institute of Art will hold a special screening of Wet House on Thursday, May 2nd from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.  MIA is asking those interested in watching the film to RSVP online.

"It’s an opportunity to get educated about this model of harm reduction," said May who will also attend the screening at MIA and be part of the discussion.  "People have stories, they’re living their lives, and they deserve to be treated with compassion."

At Glenwood, Herman is already counting his blessings and making changes.  He still drinks but is trying to substitute more of his alcohol with THC gummies as a means of reducing his own harm.

"I’ve lived a really, really tough life," reflected Herman.  "It’s not been pleasant, but I’m making changes."

For more information on Catholic Charities’ Glenwood facility, or to refer a family member, call 612-204-8421 or visit their website.