CITY URGED TO BAIL OUT REHAB UNIT

Coun. Caroline Postma, whose ward includes the downtown Salvation Army
shelter, said she'll be demanding that the city provide emergency
funding to save the addiction rehabilitation centre from closure next
month.

"My job now is to convince my colleagues that, if we don't support
this, we're going to end up paying more for policing," said Postma.
Acknowledging that addiction treatment is a provincial health ministry
responsibility, she concedes: "It's going to be a tough fight."

The health department, along with another provincial ministry and the
city social services department, have been bickering over who should
fund a program that for 14 years has been pulling addicts off the
streets -- and usually out of the local criminal milieu -- and helping
them reshape their lives.

After a year on its own, the Sally Ann said it can no longer fund the
program and has stopped accepting new clients and will shut it down
entirely by the end of January.

Postma's worries about what happens after that date are echoed by
local police and other agencies.

"Drug rehabilitation programs are really important," said Windsor
police Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton. When it comes to Windsor crimes, "in
many, many cases, drugs are involved," he added.

"Putting them in jail is one thing, but it doesn't cure them of their
drug addiction," McNorton said, adding that spikes in the local
break-and-enter rate are usually linked to repeat offenders seeking
quick money to pay for their drug habits.

The issue is scheduled to be debated by city council at its Dec. 12
meeting.

Windsor Community Rehabilitation Centre has been offering a 90-day
residential treatment program since 1989, but the city will fund
emergency shelter stays only up to 14 days.

"It really is a shame. That just doesn't give a homeless person long
enough to establish themselves," said Maj. Neil Lewis of the Salvation
Army's Centre of Hope in London, where the maximum stay is 42 days,
and double that if the person seeking help agrees to a rehab program.
Lewis said most Ontario shelters offer stays of 30 to 42 days.

"We're not asking for big-time dollars -- I've said to the city, if
you can't give us 90 days, please consider 28 or 30 days. That would
give us time to provide them with some tools," said Maj. Clyde Guy,
executive director of the Windsor program.

In the last fiscal year, Windsor gave the local Salvation Army close
to $1 million for its hostel and emergency shelter programs, said
Ronna Warsh, the city's general manager of social services.

The province finances 80 per cent of that total, which Guy said is
based on a $39.15 per diem grant to cover food and shelter. The costs
of addiction rehab services, including doctors, counselling and
meeting spaces, are all paid for by the Salvation Army, he said.

STRONG DEMAND

The city's detox centre run by Windsor Regional Hospital has referred
108 addicts annually on average to the Sally Ann program, said manager
Ray Lauzon. Others are referred directly from Windsor Jail, the courts
or picked up battered and bruised from back alleys.

The closure of a program in such demand "is going to present
difficulties for people who want to seek treatment," said Lauzon.