WHITE AIMS TO RAISE MILLIONS FOR YOUTH DRUG TREATMENT CENTRE

Tim Shufelt The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa's long wait for a youth drug treatment centre will soon come
to an end, says Police Chief Vern White. In fact, he says he is going
to start raising money for the project himself.

With the province on board, Chief White met with Municipal Affairs
Minister and Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jim Watson yesterday to discuss
the timing of an announcement and approaches to raising money.

"I've always said, 'If we build it, they'll come.' Now I've got to
live up to my end, and we have to get some private-sector support,"
Chief White said.

He has a fundraising target in the $3-million to $5-million range, he
said. "I'm out trying to muster support from a capital perspective,
and I'm trying to get help with that. I'm not a fundraiser."

Chief White said he's enlisted the help of United Way chief executive
Michael Allen for advice on how to get Ottawans to dig deep.

But the police chief said he has faith that the city's philanthropic
heart will be sparked by a project that addictions workers have been
advocating for 20 years.

It will be the first residential facility in Ottawa dedicated to
treating youths between 13 and 17.

The most recent proposal calls for a 15-bed facility on the west side
of the city and a separate five-bed facility for French-speaking
youth on the east side.

The plan awaits approval from the board of the Champlain Local Health
Integration Network later this month. A funding announcement from the
province should follow soon after, Chief White said.

"I'm hoping we'll see a formal announcement before the (legislature)
rests in June," he said.

Estimates on when the facilities will actually be running depend on
whether health planners decide to build from scratch or retrofit an
existing building in West Carleton for the anglophone location.