DRUG POLICY COORDINATOR JOB NOT FILLED

The Central Okanagan needs a drug policy coordinator.

But finding someone up to the task is proving more complicated than
sorting out the myriad of service overlaps which spurred the demand
for such a position to initially be created.

The Central Okanagan Regional District was given the go-ahead to hire
a coordinator early this spring, over a year after the citizen-led
Central Okanagan Four Pillars Coalition issued its report calling on
the local government to hire a coordinator to oversee and help shape
the direction of services and solutions to drug issues in the region.

But there has been little to no response to the job posting.

"I think the uniqueness of the position and the general
competitiveness of the market place is proving the problem here,"
said Bruce Smith, spokesperson for the Central Okanagan Regional District.

The job requires someone who understands drug policy and can
streamline social services, plugging holes, tapping fundraising
dollars and ensuring service providers aren't repeating themselves.

"What we're hoping is that a person with a thorough knowledge of drug
and alcohol strategies, and processes and treatments, will be able to
work with the agencies that are already in place and are doing street
level programs, to ensure there's no duplication, to ensure they're
communicating with one another," Smith explained.

The job was posted twice and regional human resources staff are now
"repackaging" their information to make sure the advertisement
accurately describes what's needed before taking the job search province-wide.

Salary range is described as "competitive" and provides full benefits
for someone willing to sign on to a three-year contract, although
Smith was not able to comment on how much competitive means.

In the meantime, a representative for the latest citizen task force
targeting drug problems, the Crystal Meth Task Force, says that
without the drug policy coordinator in place, there is no one to
start evaluating and implementing their findings and so they've had
to continue their work past deadline.

The committee was given $20,000 in government grants to complete a
90-day evaluation and establish a concrete set of recommendations as
to the nature, scope and possible solutions to crystal meth use in
the Okanagan.

"Ideally, the goal of this task force was to do a 90-day task force
and then produce a document with our recommendations, and give that
to the drug policy coordinator and say, 'Here, this is what the
community feels is needed in terms of crystal meth,'" said Carmen
Lenihan, a spokesperson for the crystal meth task force.

"So that's partly why we're continuing and we have no one to pass the
ball to right now. We're not going to be a flash in the pan."