DETOX CENTRE SAVES LIVES AND SOULS

The Ottawa Detoxification Centre saves lives, plain and simple, yet it is
facing closing in October due to lack of funding.

It is a place where the advantaged and disadvantaged alike can go to dry
out, and to get the help they need to try to get their lives back on track.
It is a place for people with PhDs as well as for people with no education.
It is a place for people with full stomachs, as well as for those who have
no idea where their next meal will come from. It's for people who walk in
wearing Armani suits, as well as for people who walk in wearing the only
soiled clothes that they own.

The only thing that all of these men and women have in common is the will
to try to get better; to try to beat back their demons. We walked or
staggered in of our own free will, and are free to leave at any time before
the staff recommends we do, although if you do leave before you are
discharged, you may not return for 24 hours, and then there may or may not
be a bed for you. Your decision, your risk.

I speak from experience. I'm a former recipient of the life-saving services
that are provided at the Detox Centre, (formally known as the Ottawa
Withdrawal Management Centre).

I am a recovering alcoholic. I have not had a drink for more than two years
now, and I have no desire to have one either. I am alive today and able to
write this article, to work, to pay taxes, to be a contributing member of
society. I am now able to be a good son to my mother, a good brother to my
sisters, a good friend to those I didn't totally ostracize while I was a drunk.

The Detox Centre will help those who want to help themselves. It is
sponsored by the Sisters of Charity Health Service, which runs the
Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre. It runs on a deficit. Believe me when I
say that the Detox Centre is a no-frills operation. The people in our jails
are better funded and have a lot more resources at their disposal than the
good folks who run Detox. They care. They are committed to the cause of
helping people who find themselves on the lowest rung of life's ladder. It
does not matter what colour your skin is, which God you pray to or how much
money you have.

You are sick and want to try to get well? That is all that it takes to get
the help you need from what I, and many others, consider an essential service.

That, and money.

I know that alcoholism and drug addiction are not sexy issues for most
people. It is not a disease that most people are willing to open their
wallets for. It is not a "vote getter" for politicians, so it remains in
the background. This should not become a non-issue; you (or someone you
know and love) could be next to need this service.

If you, the taxpayer, need to be convinced that you are getting value for
your dollar, consider the following:

Assume for the sake of argument that each of the 21 employees earns a
modest $30,000 per year -- that adds up to a $630,000 salary expense out of
an annual operating budget of $870,970. This leaves a total of $240,970. So
far, we haven't paid for any utilities or any other operating expenses.

Let's say that the $240,970 is allotted solely to the care of the clients
of the centre: the 20 beds, if always full for the maximum time allowed
(five days), would allow the centre to treat 1,460 clients a year at a
per-client cost of $165 for the full five-day stay, or about $33 a day for
shelter and three basic meals.

It costs a lot more than that per day to house an inmate, or to stay for a
day in hospital. But the Ottawa Detoxification Centre is getting about the
same amount of money from the Ministry of Health that it was getting a
decade ago. That's not enough money to pay the bills today.

Think hard about this issue and then call your MPP. Please.