ADDICTION CENTRE SITE CONTROVERSIAL

Open House Today Aims at Ending 'Misconceptions' About Treatment Facility

RICHMOND - A controversial residential recovery proposal at 8180 Ash
St. is dividing neighbours.

Some residents welcome the idea, but others are protesting against it
and claim people are moving out of the area near the proposed site for
Turning Point Recovery Society's 32-bed addiction treatment facility.

"The number of 'for sale' signs going up in this neighbourhood is
ridiculous," said Ash Street resident Philip Parker.

Although the project is awaiting rezoning approval, Parker said three
neighbours have already moved out.

Parker said he supports the project, but not the scale. The plan
includes three residences that would create 11 new affordable housing
units and 20 residential recovery beds.

Brenda Plant, executive director of Turning Point, said the residences
will improve the look of the community, not destroy it. She added that
housing values have not dropped near Turning Point's nine-bed Odlin
Road location in Richmond.

"Most people don't even know the facility is in that community," Plant
said. "People had these same fears before the facility on Odlin Road
was built, and none of their fears materialized. There hasn't been a
single community safety incident reported in the 25 years we have operated."

Barbara Whitehead, who lives five houses from the site, has joined a
group called Not In Anybody's Backyard, and two former councillors in
protesting against the project. "We can't have that institution here,
there are three schools within walking distance," she said. "I can
upgrade my security, but what am I going to do about the noise and
traffic?"

Plant said she hopes an open house Turning Point is holding today will
put and end to "misconceptions about who we provide services to. They
are doctors and lawyers, not criminals. Addiction knows no
boundaries."

Vince Batistelli, addiction program manager for Richmond Health
Services, said, "People in recovery are moving past their addictions.
We should be more concerned about people living in our communities
with active addictions, who are shooting up in their homes and getting
behind the wheel."

There is a real need for addiction recovery facilities in Richmond, he
added. "Placing the facility within a community is the most effective
opportunity for former addicts to gain the skills, confidence and
competencies required to move back into society."