DOUBLE ADDICTION SERVICES, CITY TOLD

'It's Going To Reach Pandemic Proportions,' Official Says

A new report into Calgary's homelessness situation concludes the city
needs to double its addiction treatment beds within three years, or
face a problem of pandemic proportions.

And homeless advocates say without new beds, wait times will continue
to grow beyond the current two months, leading to the deaths of
addicts who want to seek treatment.

The Strategic Plan for the Addictions Sector, prepared and released by
the Calgary Homeless Foundation, finds 400 new beds are needed by 2010
to cope with the increasing demand.

The three-year plan identifies increased treatment capacity as one of
three priorities, alongside treatment delivery and staff support.

"It's going to reach pandemic proportions, and it's starting to get
there," said Stacey Petersen, chair of the foundation's addictions
sector and executive director of Fresh Start Recovery Centre.

Petersen added without additional funding, agencies will likely have
to reduce the number of beds rather than add more.

"What's probably going to end up happening is the issues are going to
get worse, the problems are going to get greater, because these
agencies aren't going to be able to sustain the staff they have."

Eighteen months in the making, the strategic plan recommends the
addition of 200 long-term residential treatment beds, 100 residential
treatment beds for youth, 30 pre-treatment beds, 50 post-treatment
beds and 20 dual diagnosis treatment beds.

The city currently has about 400 beds in use for a range of addiction
treatments.

"There is a severe shortage of treatment beds in this city at the
moment," said Mark Brunton, chairman of the foundation's strategic
planning project advisory committee and president of the Simon House
Residence Society.

The bed crunch means that addicts seeking treatment are currently
being told to wait for up to two months, a delay that sees most of
them return to the streets and their addictions.

"We can say, yes, but wait up to two months, please," said
Brunton.

"They will return to that community, back to the lifestyle, and
typically they are living in high-risk situations."

No new provincial funding has been made available for more treatment
beds. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission received a 1.7 per
cent increase in last month's provincial budget, money that will be
used to retain staff.

Harvey Cenaiko, chairman of AADAC, admitted Friday that capacity was
well short of what it needs to be.

"I am very much aware of the issues related to capacity right now, the
fact that we need to increase capacity," he said. "I will admit that,
yes, there is a shortage of beds."

Cenaiko pointed to research that suggests 70 per cent of Calgary
homeless have some form of addiction.

"That means we have about 2,500 homeless right now that are addicted
to drugs and alcohol. We don't have near the capacity to deal with
that."

However, the Calgary-Buffalo MLA and former solicitor general said he
met last week with Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Dave Hancock
to discuss additional funding.

He said the province is "re-looking at some of those pressure points
regarding treatment."

The strategic plan will help co-ordinate the efforts of Calgary's
social agencies working on the issue of homelessness.

It will act as a road map for dealing with addiction
issues.

Petersen says he is aware of potential clients losing hope after being
told to wait up to eight weeks for a treatment bed. He said that he
tries not to tell people of the growing wait times.

This week he was told of a man who cut himself up in a Red Deer hotel
- -- the man's mother called him, asking for help.

"He was almost dead. He was making the supreme sacrifice rather than
continuing to fight," said Petersen.

"For me to be able to tell this guy -- it breaks my heart -- I'm sorry
but you're not going to get in for six weeks, I don't tell him that. I
try to give him hope instead."

Fresh Start hopes to build a new 50-bed facility this year, and will
be looking for provincial dollars. The proposal is currently before
the city's planning committee.

Petersen said he is confident the strategic plan can be implemented,
using money from both the public and private sectors.

He added public awareness of the homelessness issue is reaching a
"critical mass" and that Calgarians seem to want to do something about
the issue.

"I think there's no other choice."