'BEACON OF HOPE' ON CRYSTAL METH

Esquimalt To Get Salvation Army Detox Centre For Addicted Teens

The Salvation Army plans to open a new youth detox centre in November for
Victoria teens addicted to the dangerous street drug crystal meth.

The six-bed residential treatment centre in Esquimalt will be the first of
its kind in Greater Victoria and the first such facility operated by the
Salvation Army in Canada.

Centre manager Rhiannon Porcellato said the $350,000 facility, dubbed the
"Beacon of Hope House," will open its doors Nov. 1.

About one-third of the funding will come from the Vancouver Island Health
Authority, with the Salvation Army picking up the rest of the tab.

Located on the grounds of an old church, and featuring a permanent staff of
12 counsellors, the facility will provide treatment programs for youths
aged 13 to 18 struggling to beat their addiction to the illegal stimulant.

"We're hoping this will be a template for some nationwide action on the
part of the Salvation Army," Porcellato said. "These will be the only
addiction treatment beds for youth in the Greater Victoria area."

Porcellato said the centre will follow a therapeutic community model in
which the youths will receive supportive counselling while learning how to
reconnect with their families and communities. Patient stays can last
anywhere from 30 days to six months.

Vancouver Island parents looking to get their teens into treatment centres
are currently forced to travel to Vancouver or other areas of the Lower
Mainland to find adequate facilities, something Porcellato said only
exacerbates the problem.

"It's hard enough to positively conduct treatment in your own community,"
she said. "But sending the kids far away, especially to a larger city where
they're going to run into a lot more troubled youth, is tricky."

Porcellato said the Beacon of Hope House won't be a straight detox centre,
but more of a post-addiction centre providing a safe and healing environment.

More than 150 parents already have called the Salvation Army, hoping to
sign their kids up for the program.

Counsellors will try to instil a sense of responsibility and teach life
skills. Gardening, cooking, yoga and meditation will all be part of the
program.

The centre also has plans for the teens to volunteer with the local SPCA as
part of their treatment.

"It's so hard for some of these kids to bond with another person,"
Porcellato said. "But they don't seem to have the same guards up when it
comes to animals. They don't feel judged, they just feel loved and
supported unconditionally."

The program will offer extensive follow-up care programs and teach
relapse-prevention strategies. Teens who successfully complete the program
will be invited back as peer mentors.

Community outreach programs like the Beacon of Hope House are crucial to
filling the gaps in treatment that exist on the Island, VIHA spokeswoman
Suzanne Germain said.

"Successful addiction programs are much more than just access to a detox
bed," she said. "It's also the services and support systems that come after
an individual has detoxed. These are the groups that work closest with the
clientele and they know which services are needed, and they know better
than anyone else where the gaps are."

Crystal Meth Victoria Society president Mark McLaughlin cheered the
announcement.

"We are very pleased this is going forward," he said. "For the moment this
is a positive sign of progress, and it's the first important step in the
provision of needed resources for youth and families in our community."