IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?

A detox centre in Williams Lake could be a big benefit to the
community, but it's not a magic pill.

It won't solve the problem of addicted people on our streets on its
own, and it won't necessarily solve the problem of RCMP members having
to spend valuable time dealing with public intoxication.

And sending the Interior Health Authority a bill isn't going to make
it do anything at all.

Mayor Scott Nelson says the billing plan is to raise awareness of the
problem, and Nelson is a master at staging bold political moves to
generate headlines and coverage.

He is, after all, the mayor who told the provincial government the
City wouldn't pay the carbon tax (a position he later changed); told
the Kamloops Daily News last year that "we are going to fire Interior
Health" and run Deni House (that never happened); and will present
local judges with a community impact statement, as if they don't read
the newspaper or live in this community and are oblivious to the huge
amount of crime in Williams Lake.

So we won't be surprised when Interior Health doesn't pay up. We also
wouldn't be surprised if future requests from Williams Lake aren't
looked at with a great deal of skepticism, based on our recent history.

Nelson and city council do deserve credit and praise for recognizing a
serious problem (and an incredibly poor use of police officers' time)
in the city, and at least doing something to address it.

Nelson says, "What we know is that it's costing our community $150,000
to provide a service that we feel Interior Health should be providing."

That is not the case.

Interior Health would never be the agency to arrest people for public
intoxication or to shelter them.

A detox centre is only useful if people use it. There's nothing to say
it wouldn't be used, not only by Williams Lake residents, but addicts
from surrounding areas as well, and the only way to know for sure is
to build one. But the fact that the hospital's Gateway Crisis
Stabilization Unit often has vacant beds is a sign there's help out
there not now being used.

Addicts can't be forced into detox; they can't be dragged into
treatment or locked up and forbidden the substance they abuse.
Vancouver introduced Insite for its addicts - it's not detox, it's a
safe place to get high.

Addicts have to want to get clean.

If that's the case, then a detox centre here in Williams Lake - where
those who want it can get help in their own community can do so -
would be a great benefit.

An Insite in Williams Lake isn't the answer either, but perhaps an
in-between measure that Interior Health could help with is to bring
more outreach nurses like Patti Murphy, profiled in Tuesday's paper,
to Williams Lake.

Those nurses could make addicts aware of the stabilization unit, offer
support, and direct them to services they need. Currently, Murphy
spends two days a week in Williams Lake.

What could come of having a nurse available every day? And surely that
would be a cheaper option for Interior Health for now than partnering
with the City for a detox centre?

There are no easy answers when it comes to addiction issues, and the
effects of those issues on communities. Cities all over Canada are
plagued with the same problem, and none seem to have come up with a
magic solution.

A detox centre may very well be a help to Williams Lake, but
finger-pointing and threats aren't going to do the trick. There's no
guarantee that a detox centre will solve Williams Lake's problem.

Interior Health is right that it's not responsible for sheltering
addicts on the streets. Its responsibility is to help those who want
help.

Unless every single drug and alcohol abuser in Williams Lake decides
to enter treatment, the sad reality is the police, the City, and the
residents will have to continue to endure the status quo, which is, as
council points out, unacceptable.

The City should look at more short- and medium-term solutions, like a
shelter, to help addicts and gauge the demand (among the addicts, not
other residents) for a detox centre.

That would be a more productive and less provocative way to address
the issue.