DRUG PROGRAM SKIPPED OVER FOR FUNDING

The director of a Penticton drug rehabilitation program hasn't given
up hope of obtaining provincial funding, even though it missed out on
a government announcement Friday of $196 million to combat
homelessness.

The province will provide $5.6 million annually for 35 years to help
fund 758 supportive-housing units across the province. This includes
projects by three Okanagan organizations -- Resurrection Recovery in
Kelowna, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of the Central Okanagan and
the Vernon branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Jeanni Jones, vice-president of the Penticton Recovery Resource
Society, said the organization intends to apply to B.C. Housing within
the next few months for funding to acquire a permanent building for a
men's drug rehabilitation program.

Discovery House, a five-bed men's rehabilitation facility, is set to
open March 1 in a house adjacent to St. John Vianney Catholic Church
on Wade Avenue. Jones said the church has agreed to allow the program
to use the house rent-free for the next year.

Enough funds have been obtained, mainly through donations, to allow
the facility to operate for at least the next year. Further
fundraising is planned to help the program meet its annual budget of
about $80,000.

"We have absolutely no housing for these guys who are homeless or in
need of a safe, drug-free place," Jones said. "If we want people to
get through treatment, they need stable housing."

Many of the clients currently stay at the Salvation Army men's
shelter.

"There's a limited amount of time that they can stay there, so it
makes it difficult to keep people in counselling," Jones said.

The support recovery program involves clients who come in for
counselling at the Pathways Addictions Resource Centre in Penticton or
through mental health or other programs.

The house is abstinence-based, Jones said, with the clients attending
drug or alcohol rehab programs.

Although a client may stay in Discovery House for up to one year, most
remain for about three months. Volunteer staff remain on-site 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.

"I know the city is very aware that low-income housing is at a premium
here," she said. "It's really difficult to meet that need."

Penticton city council has agreed to submit a letter of support for
the project.

Coun. Garry Litke noted B.C. Housing asked that Discovery House begin
operations before an application is made.

"B.C. Housing has indicated if the operation is up and running and
shown to be viable, that they'll accept an application for funding for
this particular facility," Litke said.

Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for housing, said the Housing
Matters B.C. program aims to integrate support services with housing,
so people can move out of temporary shelters to more secure housing.

First announced last October, the program had originally called for
450 supportive-housing units.

After communities and non-profit organizations offering additional
funding support, the province increased the number to 758 units.

The federal government is contributing $42 million toward the
initiative.