You can decide to stop it.
Severe alcohol withdrawal is the same as heroin withdrawal. In a clinic, the patient would be medicated and kept under observation for the first several days as their system can go into shock, which can kill. After that, they need continuous support as their neurological symptoms will persist and they have to learn to handle discomfort without seeking instant relief. That's the hard part. The actual stopping can be literally life-threatening.
you can apply for council accommodation and benefits. There are shelters.
Incredibly hard to secure either these days. The benchmark for local authorities now is whether you "could survive on the streets" (I have personal experience!) and being an addict is not considered enough to render you vulnerable.
Wilde has spoken of living in a homeless community - I assume this was a shelter. They are usually time-limited, sometimes to as little as 12 hours. There's no security.
an alcoholic treated with kindness is usually the epitome of humility and gratitude
Only while they're assured of sufficient alcohol to put them to sleep and only during the early part of the process, while their frontal lobes are shutting down. As you've said, Wilde, nasty people get nastier during this phase and sweet people get sweeter. This is because they're losing their social filters and their basic emotions are getting straight through without moderation or balance. They're also having miniature blackouts by this point, so their memories how they really behaved will be impaired. You can never know exactly how you were, unless someone videos it and you're sober when you watch it back (which I'm guessing you never are!)
The safest way to continue drinking is to slow it right down. Drink a whole glass of water - a pint or at least a long glass - between each drink. You'll still get drunk, it'll just cost less and inflict less damage on your poor old brain. Try safe distraction techniques to offset the twitchiness about drinking slowly :)