FUNDING SOUGHT FOR WOMEN'S RECOVERY BEDS

Courtenay council has thrown its support behind efforts to address
the immediate and long-term need for recovery beds for women in the
Comox Valley.

The Community Drug Strategy Committee and the Comox Valley Transition
Society are looking for government funding to maintain three recovery
beds and to build up to six beds.

Council agreed Monday to write the Ministry of Health to support the
Drug Strategy Committee's request for funding for the equivalent of
six recovery beds for women in the Valley.

The Comox Valley, with about 60,000 people, receives funding for
fewer recovery beds for women than surrounding communities, explained
Coun. Greg Phelps, who sits on the committee.

"The value of these recovery beds for women can't be overstated," he said.

"As has been reported in the local newspapers, 53 per cent of the
homeless in the Comox Valley are women; whereas, the national average
is about 20 per cent. Many of these women are dealing with addiction issues.

"The lack of treatment beds means many of them will stay in their
present situation rather than leave town and be away from their
children and families for treatment," Phelps added

The Community Drug Strategy Committee wanted council's support to
address the longer-term need for six recovery beds and to address the
immediate need to maintain three beds at the transition house,
explained committee member Sam Sommers.

Since June, the Transition Society has been running a pilot project
to see what would happen if there were more beds.

The pilot project allowed the Transition Society to add two
additional beds and support staff, explained Heather Ney of the Comox
Valley Transition Society, noting there are now three beds housed in
the transition house.

The Transition Society initially received $17,000 from Mental Health
and Addictions as well as a per-diem rate per bed night, which was
meant to last until the end of September, said Ney.

In September, a community member anonymously came forward with
$5,000, so the project was extended, but the money is going to run
out in the next week or so, she noted.

"We have an immediate need for funding," said Ney. "It's my hope the
city might write to the Ministry of Health to ask for the funding
required at least to get us to the end of the fiscal year so we can
continue to work with them to secure more ongoing funding, and that
would just be to maintain the three beds in the Transition House.
Ideally we would like to have a separate six-bed facility, but as you
can well imagine, the cost is significantly more than it is to
maintain what we have right now."

In the past four months, the three beds have been full 85 per cent of
the time, noted Ney.

Sommers and Ney also brought up the need for land to be able to build
a six-bed facility for women.

In a newspaper article, Premier Gordon Campbell said there's money
available for drug and mental health facilities if cities provide
land and zoning, Sommers told council.

"What I'm heartened by in terms of that statement is there's
something we can do in our local communities," she said. "As a
community, I think it would be very important for us to make a strong
effort to try to find land and approve zoning so we can get an
appropriate house together for women."