DEAL TO SAVE DETOX CENTRE IS IMMINENT, SAVOIE SUGGESTS

Montfort Hospital president Gerald Savoie says a deal to save the
collapsing and "courageous" alcohol and drug detox program on Bruyere
Street in Lowertown is just days or weeks away.

But he says it is premature to divulge the proposed new location for the
only facility of its kind in the Ottawa region.

Mr. Savoie declined to confirm unofficial reports that the 30-year-old
Ottawa Withdrawal Management Centre would be relocated to Clarence Street,
between Dalhousie and King Edward, about seven blocks away from its present
location.

"This program is being pulled out of a nosedive, and I don't think I want
to inflict any more trauma than what's already there," Mr. Savoie said in
an interview yesterday. "We're looking at an overall, comprehensive
solution, a very positive piece for the community and to be quite frank, I
would not want to make any comment that would put anything in jeopardy."

The Clarence Street location is an area of Lowertown saturated with
shelters, soup kitchens and other services for derelicts -- at a time when
the Lowertown Community Association has appealed to authorities to start
spreading such facilities to other areas.

The move would come on the heels of an uproar by residents over the
purchase of a St. Andrew Street apartment block a few blocks away by
Shepherds of Good Hope to house mentally ill people, many of whom are
recovering from substance abuse. The neighbourhood is dotted with lawn
signs that say "Integrate, Don't Concentrate."

"Moving the detox into that already well-populated area is putting the
clients at risk, and is further ghettoizing Ottawa's most historic
neighbourhood," said Kate Laing, a director of the Lowertown Community
Association.

She cited the move as another case where residents have not been consulted.
So far, however, the community association does not have a plan to oppose
the move. City Councillor Georges Bedard recently initiated a study of the
distribution of social services and the impact of concentration.

"Meantime, our neighbourhoods are suffering, and no one is standing up for
the urban residents of this city," Ms. Laing said. "Its ridiculous and
short-sighted."

Mr. Bedard was away and was unavailable for comment.

The Sisters of Charity and SCO Health Service announced closure of the
centre last year, saying that after a decade with no increase in funds from
the health ministry, they could no longer run the 20-bed, bilingual
facility. It helps about 3,000 people each year, providing detoxification,
assessment and referral to treatment centres. Clients also come from
Cornwall, Arnprior, Pembroke and Renfrew. And hundreds are turned away.

The closing announcement provoked alarm, as many clients would otherwise be
left on the street or put added pressure on the jail, hospital admissions
and ambulance services.

"Keeping the detox centre open is literally a matter of life and death,"
said a petition signed by more than 2,000 people that was posted online by
workers from the centre.

Dennis Long, president of the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Association of
Ontario, said yesterday the program is vital. Other detox centres in
Ontario frequently close their doors for weeks at a time to try to stay
within their budgets, which have virtually been frozen for a dozen years.

"It's like saying ambulances are too expensive, so you can't have any
ambulances, and people have to get to the hospital on their own," Mr. Long
said. "Withdrawal management services get people off the street or out of
unhealthy living situations, help them to dry out, help them to get
themselves together, and then they can move on to more longer-term
treatment or support."