DETOX BEDS ON THE WAY FOR NANAIMO YOUTH

Adapt Given Responsibility To Make It Happen

Six new detoxification beds for youth are coming to Nanaimo this fall
and will allow youths to stay here while undergoing treatment.

"The government has given the Island new dollars to start up the
beds," said Michelle Dartnall, manager of youth addictions for the
Vancouver Island Health Authority. "We're trying to develop and add
services to areas that were under-resourced."

In March, the provincial government gave VIHA nearly $1.2 million for
16 withdrawal management and stabilization beds for substance-addicted
youth. An additional $363,324 will fund four Island beds specifically
for crystal methamphetamine users.

Nanaimo is getting three withdrawal management beds, commonly known as
detox beds, and three residential stabilization beds for longer-term
support.

Dartnall said before this money was committed to expanding addictions
programs, Nanaimo only had one detox bed for youths; other youth were
sent to Victoria or Vancouver.

"One of the things we're trying to do is we're trying to provide
services closer to home for youth. We're trying to provide most of the
services on the Island now and we're hoping to take some of the
pressure off Victoria."

While the beds were supposed to be up and running by July, Dartnall
said it's a lengthy process to develop the needed resources to put the
beds in place, as staff needs to be trained and allocated and
locations found for the beds.

VIHA has given ADAPT (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment)
the responsibility of developing a plan to put the beds in place in
the community.

Deborah Matchett, executive director of ADAPT, said her agency is in
the process of doing so now.

They received their funding from VIHA in July, and Matchett has been
touring the Island visiting areas that have similar beds.

"We're busily trying to recruit and interview homes," she said.
"Setting up a detox is not something that happens overnight, it's a
bit of a process."

Matchett said there are two models ADAPT is considering using - a
detox facility or a home care model.

The home care model would be a non-medical detoxification bed with
clinical support available, but finding homes that are willing and
qualified to do this is time consuming.

"We're hoping that we'll have something up and running by September,
but everything is in very early stages," said Matchett.