The Sobering Up Shelter is preparing for an influx of drunken Canberrans over the coming festive season.
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Demand for the shelter has been growing steadily over recent years, and the facility has constantly filled its five-bed capacity over the Christmas and New Year period.
The vast majority of people who end up at the shelter have drunk huge amounts of alcohol, often registering a blood-alcohol content between .2 and .3.
Many, according to shelter director Anne Kirwan, are so drunk they are unable to tell staff their name or date of birth.
Those who come to the facility are mostly brought by police or paramedics, often from Civic and other popular nightspots, and only when there is no one else to look after them.
Staff take down their details, give them a change of clothes, and put them to bed, checking on them every 15 minutes.
In the morning, they are fed a light breakfast, and offered education and support services on alcohol abuse.
Mrs Kirwan says staff are now bracing for the festive season, when a ready supply of drunks can be found throughout the territory.
''This time of year is really a busy period for us, with Christmas parties and formals and new year celebrations,'' she said.
''As the summer months come and it warms up, the shelter gets full.''
ACT Policing reaffirmed its connection with the Sobering Up Shelter, which is run by CatholicCare, yesterday.
City beats Sergeant Mick Serbatoio knows the value of the shelter more than most cops.
He brought the first referral to the shelter when he was working as a city beats constable roughly seven years ago.
He estimates he's taken more than 100 people to the shelter since then.
''The best protection we can give people and the safest option to remove them from town ... is to get them up here,'' he said.
''Quite often they'll think it's a hotel and wonder how much it's going to cost without realising it's a free service.''
Chief Police Officer Roman Quaedvlieg inspected the shelter during the memorandum of understanding signing yesterday. He would like to see a greater rate of referral to the shelter by police.