I don't live in the best area, so this is sort of a regular sight here. I mean most of them are by their senses (as much as anyone'd be, being homeless) and I just drop some bucks or whatever.
But regularly I come across someone who overdid a bit. Not unresponsive or anything, that'd warrant a wee-woo wagon anyways (Don't worry, this is in a country with universal healthcare), but like, really out of it, barely standing without assistance or unable to get up by themselves.
What's the best course of action here? I usually ask if they'd like me to call an ambulance but they always say no. Which means even if I did call an ambulance, they can't actually take them in without the cops involved and I'm apprehensive to call the cops on them because that's basically a guaranteed stay in the drunk tank. Even assuming they don't rough handle them, you'll still have to pay for your night in the drunk tank and at "best" they're poor enough where this just gets waived, at worst I fucked someone out of quite a lot of money they definitely don't have.
I usually try to offer to walk them home but when they're that out of it, anything but basic yes/no questions gets hard to communicate and they often seem understandably reluctant about telling strangers where they live, assuming they even have a home or are in a state to communicate this and not just go by like subconscious drive.
What's the best course of action here?
They’re adults, they’re not in immediate danger, they’ll probably be fine.
Except are they? The guy hardly managing to stand up on his own next to a busy road in the soaking wet seems pretty much both at risk of some sort of hypothermia; getting run over stumbling into the road or splitting their head open because they can't keep balance anymore.
I'm not about bothering people sleeping on a park bench in the sunshine, they'll be fine.
You put both yourself and the person at more risk trying to intervene against their will.
Okay, how? Like honestly. This might be the big cis-dude privilege speaking, but what is the danger of someone lying on the ground barely managing to stand up here? Either to me or them.