HOPE FOR DRUG-ADDICTED YOUTH

Patients Can Be Forcibly Confined At New Centre

CAROLE Johnson believes her daughter Colleen might still be alive
today if she could have been forced to attend a unique type of drug
treatment centre that opened Tuesday.

At the opening of the province's first such centre where youths can be
confined against their will, Johnson told about her daughter's decent
into methamphetamine addiction and her death in an accident in a stolen car.

The five-bed operation, located at Macdonald Youth Services on Mayfair
Avenue, allows parents of children under 18 who have severe and
persistent drug abuse problems to apply for a court order to have
their child apprehended by police.

They would be brought to the new centre and be confined for seven days
for assessment to determine the best treatment.

Johnson did not know how or why her daughter became so seriously
caught in the terrible spiral of meth addiction but she said she and
her husband found little support from authorities.

"We called a crisis centre and they came and only spoke with her," she
said. "She was arrested once in a stolen car and spent the night in
jail and we begged the police to keep her in jail but they said they
couldn't." Johnson said the support of her parish priest and the love
and support of her family has helped her family endure the loss of her
daughter "who lit up the room when she entered."

Colleen died three weeks before her 18th birthday on July 27, 2004.
Manitoba Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross unveiled a plaque in
Colleen's honour at the new residential facility.

About 25 specially trained youth and drug addiction counsellors have
been hired to work at the centre modeled after similar ones in
Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The temporary operation is being managed by Marymound, an organization
with a long history of working with troubled and challenging youth.

Ian Hughes, executive director of Marymound, said that although police
or sheriffs officers will accompany the youth to the centre, his staff
is trained in non-violent methods to subdue any residents who might
act out.

"The fact is it is much more likely that our staff will be able to get
through to these kids than an imposing police officer might," he said.

A permanent 10-bed facility is being planned for Marymound's Scotia
Street facility but the final details have not been completed. However
it is expected to open in about a year.

The centre is part of a three-year, $9 million provincial mental
health initiative. It also includes the creation of a province-wide
centralized intake and referral service for people looking for
addictions counseling and to provide support for parents.