DRUG-ADDICTED YOUTH NEED SUPPORT

The building blocks to help drug-addicted youth are open ears, a warm
hug and a broad scope, the Matrix project's team leader said
Wednesday during a briefing at the Maple Ridge Treatment Centre.

Statistics from the month of August show all of the youth the program
dealt with reported using multiple substances, and all had consumed
alcohol within the past 90 days. Fifty-five per cent reported using
marijuana in the same period, and 33 per cent said they had used
methamphetamines.

Because the sample size of youth they counsel is small, Matrix leader
Corrine Arthur cautioned the public should in no way think the
numbers accurately represent the general youth population.

The Maple Ridge Matrix initiative, a one-year pilot project based on
a Los Angeles program, has counsellors providing in-depth
interventions with youth 16 to 24. They currently have 12 regulars.
An average intervention lasts about four hours.

"It usually means we're doing an activity of some kind," Arthur said.

They find out what the problem is, listen and calm them, go for a
walk or coffee, play a board game. Some get help finding a safe place to stay.

Youth under 16 or their parents are welcome to phone, and Matrix will
connect them with the appropriate service from a web of 121 community contacts.

The program also manages youth home detox, which can be effective
providing the home environment is functional.

Matrix will now run a safe house, out of which staff will be based.
Fraser Health acquired a three-bedroom house which allows for more
privacy when talking about sensitive topics, as well as a place to
get some rest for a couple of hours when they're emotionally
exhausted from intervention.

Matrix will move in early in October. The location will be kept secret.

Representatives from Matrix, Fraser Health and the Maple Ridge
Treatment Centre wanted to dispel some myths during the briefing and
bring the focus onto wellness and education.

One misconception is that local youth are dying from meth use.

"I have yet to identify a youth death from methamphetamine," said
Mark Goheen, clinical specialist for the MRTC.

"Alcohol is killing our youth."

That doesn't mean meth deaths among youths aren't on the horizon.

Arthur said the focus needs to be on supporting youth, not on a
particular substance.

Because meth has been pressed to the forefront, youth feel they need
to say they have a meth problem - even if they don't - to get help,
or they rationalize their own substance abuse against it, Arthur said.

Youth drug use is "really situational," she said. A bad week can have
them seeking whatever they can get their hands on.

"Very often it's a case of what gets you through the night," Goheen
said. "Also it becomes a part of their identity. Very rarely is
identity about using a particular drug," it's just about using.

At Matrix, they treat drug and alcohol issues like a bad
relationship: how did their experiences make them feel, what have
they learned, how are they doing?

Arthur said every facet must be tackled so youth may be effectively
helped, and those fighting the problem won't be caught off guard when
the next drug du jour surfaces.

The Matrix can be reached at 604-319-4962.