VIHA TO OPEN LOW-COST HOMES FOR DRUG ADDICTS

The Vancouver Island Health Authority plans to open 184 units of
affordable housing in 2006 and 2007 for people with mental-health and
addiction issues.

The units, including 30 in Greater Victoria, will be in communities
throughout the Island, and will include support systems to help
clients in their recovery.

"We know that providing intensive supported-living services to people
with serious mental illnesses and addictions can improve our clients'
quality of life, improve their health status and result in
less-frequent use of other health-care services," VIHA board chairman
Jac Kreut said in a statement.

VIHA will put as much as $3.3 million a year into the program, which
calls for entering into long-term leases with developers or property
owners for the use of suitable apartment complexes. VIHA will in turn
provide 24-hour-a-day clinical supports for residents.

Alan Campbell, VIHA's director of mental health and addiction
services, said full-time, on-site support is a key for enabling many
clients to live in a supportive-housing environment. At present,
Vancouver Island has 300 supportive-living units with a more general
focus, Campbell said.

VIHA's five-year strategic plan calls for a move toward a net gain of
313 units for mental-health and addiction clients.

Among the 184 units coming in the next few years, 25 are planned for
Nanaimo, 24 for Parksville/Qualicum, and 20 each for the Cowichan
Valley, the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Port Hardy/Port McNeill.
Port Alberni receives 15 units and Tofino/Ucluelet 10.

Requests for proposal for supplying the units are being accepted
until July 4. Go to www.bcbid.ca

The VIHA program follows from a 2002 provincial government move to
replace outdated institutional care at Coquitlam's Riverview Hospital
with community-oriented services. That meant local health authorities
were required to provide a range of mental-health options.