METH PROGRAM SET TO HELP YOUTH

Imagine, you're a teenager, you have problems with drugs or alcohol, or both.

But in order to get the help you need, you must first walk through
the very visible doors of a very visible treatment or counselling centre.

This embarrassment, said Marika Sandrelli, is what keeps people from
seeking help. And this is just one way the Matrix program is set to
redefine the way youth are treated for drug and alcohol addiction in
this area, she said.

The Matrix Drug And Alcohol Treatment Centre officially opens its
doors on June 26. It will be housed in an office in the Greg Moore
Youth Centre, but youth will not be forced to walk through those
doors to ask for help.

Corrine Arthur, who has been hired on to coordinate the one-year
pilot project, said staff will go to the youth, to the family who has
requested help.

Their office, she said, is a virtual dispatch centre.

"We'll go to where the youth are, or to where the family member needs
us to be."

The Matrix Program was established by a team of researchers out of
Los Angeles and has proven effective in the treatment of crystal
methamphetamine addicted youth.

But crystal meth isn't the program's only focus, said the Maple Ridge
Treatment Centre's coordinator of clinical services.

According to Marika Sandrelli, the beauty of the Matrix is that it
acts as a web of resources that are tailored to what addicted youth
actually require.

The program consists of Arthur, who is the team leader, another full
time youth counsellor, a part time recreational therapist, a part
time outreach worker as well as a psychiatric nurse and a physician -
both have been contracted for their services.

Referrals can come from a doctor, from a family member or from the youth.

Once contact is made, one of the counsellors will be dispatched to
meet with the youth, and from there, will decide which kind of
treatment is needed.

Should the young person require detox, the nurse will be brought in
to assess if the detox can be done in the home or whether the client
would be better off done in a treatment facility.

Often, Sandrelli expects, the traditional "medical" detox will not be needed.

"In the past, with youth, either they were over treated or they were
under-treated. Not all youth need medical detox, in fact, those that
do are the minority."

Many youth, she said, are experimenting, and many have the potential
to become chronically dependent on alcohol or drugs or both.

"There's a perception out there that there are all these chronically
dependent youth out there.

"Most youth rarely identify themselves as being chronically
dependent," she said.

Sandrelli's had youths referred already who are binge drinking on
weekends, and they may be "recreational" drug users.

If the youth has a safe place to be, home detox is ideal, she said.

"The majority of people who are recreational drug users are detecting
all the time."

When a counsellor meets with the youth, often times, she said,
one-on-one counselling and discussion around safe party habits is all
that's needed.

"In the past we had this one size fits all. But all of our evidence
suggests you have to create a plan that suites each individual."

And recovery, said Sandrelli, is more than getting a youth off the drugs.

"We're scouting new paths for them."

To contact the Matrix program, call 319-4962.