TREATMENT CENTRE CLOSER TO HOME

'It's Gonna Happen,' Region's Health Chief Says Of Two Facilities For
Drug-Addicted Youths

The Ottawa area will be getting two residential drug treatment
centres for youth between the ages of 13 and 17, says the chief
executive of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network.

The long-awaited plan, which will goes before the health network
board for approval on May 28, calls for a 15-bed residential facility
for English-speaking youth on the west side and a separate five-bed
facility for francophone youth on the east side.

The program already has strong support from the province, the city
and police Chief Vern White, Dr. Robert Cushman said in an interview
yesterday. "It's gonna happen."

As it stands, there are no residential treatment facilities in the
region for youth under the age of 16. Some addicted young people are
sent to Thunder Bay and even farther away for treatment.

Community leaders have been pushing for a youth residential facility
for about 20 years and a handful of plans have never come to
fruition. In June 2006, for example, then-mayor Bob Chiarelli said he
would ask fellow councillors for support to buy the former Rideau
Correctional Centre near Burritts Rapids and convert it into a
treatment centre. The proposal never coalesced.

The treatment centre, as outlined yesterday, is scaled down from
earlier plans, which called for as many as 48 beds. The most recent
report, delivered only last month, considered a 28-bed model.

Dr. Cushman said the new model is even smaller because the centre
can't sacrifice quality. Research shows that the best residential
programs result in a success rate of up to 80 per cent. This is what
the Champlain region should aim for, he said.

That means the program must invest in the best interventions and
staff and have supports in the community for youth when they return
home from the residential program.

"You don't just want to parachute these kids back into the
community," said Dr. Cushman. "It's better to start with a few beds
and do it right and build it over time."

Although there has been no cost suggested for buying or renovating
facilities to house the centres, the cost of running the residential
program is estimated at more than $2 million a year, which would come
from health network's budget for addictions and mental health.

The health network is considering a Carp Road facility as the
west-side location. The building is currently used by the Royal
Ottawa Health Care Group as the Meadow Creek adult addiction centre,
but the program is scheduled to be moved into Ottawa this summer,
said Dr. Cushman.

The youth program is to accept about 80 teens a year, each for a stay
of about 90 days. Dr. Cushman estimates that triple that number of
addicted teens would benefit from a residential program.

Pauline Sawyer, executive director at the Alwood Treatment Centre,
said the residential facility with 14 beds for 16- to 22-year-olds
near Carleton Place has a waiting list that is three to six months long.

"There's a huge need for beds for those 16 and under," she said.
"We've been waiting for this for 15 or 20 years."

Mike Beauchesne, executive director of the Dave Smith Youth Treatment
Centre on Bronson Avenue, said there may be considerable pent-up
demand for the program because nothing like it has been available before.

He has sent teens as far away as Manitoba for treatment, which he
admits is not an optimum solution because they are so far from their
families. "We're seeing kids come through the door who commence use
at 12 or 13 years of age."

While the number of beds in this proposal is smaller than the
original plan, the important thing is that the centres are being
established, he said.

"I can't say at this point that it is a fait accompli," said Mr.
Beauchesne. "It looks good. I'm not ready to pop the champagne yet."

Dr. Cushman says youth addiction has been the "orphan" of health
care. Although he can't explain why little has been done about
establishing a residential program for drug-addicted youth, despite
decades of effort, he says he should be held responsible for his term
as head of the health network.

"What we're doing is building a foundation. We want to build from there."