DRUG STRATEGY: ONE YEAR OF INPUT

Addictions are not just family issues.

And everyone needs to start addressing them as regional and community
concerns advises Ed Sorsdahl, director of Public Health, Mental Health
and Addictions for the Sunrise Health Region.

The statement was all too fitting, being the one year follow-up
consultation for the regional drug strategy Monday at St. Gerard's
Parish.

A project that originally began approximately one year ago in Yorkton
and then seven more community sessions/discussion groups were held in
Melville, Kamsack, Langenburg, Esterhazy, Foam Lake, Canora and Ituna.
During these gatherings, participants were encouraged to provide
insight on the effects of substance abuse where they live. Input was
received from 180 participants.

And while Sorsdahl says the response varied from each community, he
remarks that he's still pleased with the process and ultimately it's a
start.

"There are two areas that still need to be addressed and that's youth
involvement and the issues of the First Nations," he says.

The region will continue with the consultation and feedback process,
says Sorsdahl. They will also implement the recommendations that were
brought forth during the community sessions including more public
education and prevention; more collaboration with agencies,
individuals and communities; improving/creating more school supports
for youth and preparing a community resource directory.

Graham Addley, Minister of Healthy Living Services, also present at
the follow-up, commended the region's efforts and enlightened the
audience about the province's own substance abuse action plan, the
Premier's Project Hope.

Addley recounted that the three year program focusing on treatment,
supply reduction, coordination and prevention began when Premier
Calvert approached him prior to the province's Centennial.

As a means of a Centennial project, the premier wanted to develop a
strategy to fix the devastation of alcohol in the province's
communities. After speaking with Addley, the duo decided to expand the
goal to include illegal substances and tobacco.

"My only concern was that we implemented a solution," revealed Addley,
not wanting the project to be idle.

Project Hope was released on August 4, 2005. Addley says the biggest
part is now trying to ensure that people get the help that they need.

Addictions are solvable problems if the proper resources are pulled
together, he added.

There's also the opportunity to fill in any gaps. Addley addressed
that the topics of youth addictions and the family unit are still
concerns to many.

Future plans for Project Hope include a family treatment centre. The
facility, which Addley said is planned for next year, would offer
parents inpatient treatment, while at the same time providing a safe
place for children so they would not have to be separated from them or
go into foster care.

Addley also took the opportunity to address inquiries around the Youth
Detoxification and Stabilization Bill, a controversial measure to some
that invokes involuntary care to youth that are suffering from drug
addiction, at risk of harming themselves or others and/or need to be
detained for their safety.

The bill was made law on April 1, 2006, with a detainment centre being
in Regina.

"We hope this is a last resort," assured Addley, who also wanted to
point out that this method was in no way a form of treatment, but
instead a safe place. "It would be great if in five years it's not
being utilized."

Attendee Bernice Puritch, regional manager for Community Resources,
then complimented the minister on the project's work so far, but
wondered when it came to prevention, had there been any thought or
research about implementing the concept in the early childhood years?

Addley said the short answer was yes and the government was working on
the children's health agenda, cognitive disability and working with
families with FASD.

"The whole idea is to identify families at risk and youth at risk, but
more work needs to be done," he remarked. Puritch declared that it is
critical to start prevention education during the early child
development years, in comments after Addley's speech.

"We don't know enough about how addictions are formulated in the early
years," she observed. "People think prevention starts when the
children are in schools, but we don't know enough about how the
education is making a difference in early stages."