RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOUTH TREATMENT CENTRE

Dear Editor:

Wherever the Youth Addictions Centre is placed, individuals will have
to travel. Does it not make more sense to have the services centrally
located to make access more readily available to clients and their
family members? Would travel to Grand Falls-Windsor from the western
or northern parts of the island not be easier and cheaper than having
to travel to the Avalon?

Grand Falls-Windsor is a centrally located service area for the
island part of Newfoundland. The Exploits Region offers many
amenities and is attractive to professionals as it is a wonderful
area in which to bring up a young family. Not everyone wants to
reside on the Avalon. We need to enhance the already existing
professionals and facilities that are currently in central.

We, as service providers, know full well that central has a high
percentage of drug use and violence amongst young people. With the
recent economic downturn, we anticipate an increase in the need for
stress-related services to all families.

Presently the closest inpatient program for youth is Nova Scotia or
New Brunswick. Often the youth who require the services that are only
available in St. John's, find the travel too much of an obstacle and
therefore they aren't part of the statistics that are being quoted on
Avalon. The aboriginal youth of our area deserve treatment facilities
closer to home.

Recently, many of the professionals in our area received training
given by the Janeway. Psychologists here started the team approach to
mental illness by involving social workers and other partners when
dealing with crisis situations and therefore the existing medical
services in the Grand Falls-Windsor area are not as congested as
those in St. John's. We have four CYN Centres in our area and the
Youth Addictions Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor would provide a great
opportunity to broaden existing services.

It is a known fact that there are many homeless youth in our central
region, couch surfing as they drift between the homes of friends.
Affordable housing for youth might be another service that could be
placed in Grand Falls-Windsor to be a supportive service for the
Youth Addictions Centre.

Status of Women Central is a feminist, equality-seeking organization
dedicated to the empowerment of women through advocacy, education,
provision of services, implementation of special projects and direct
lobbying on issues critical to the advancement of women's equality
and inclusion. The members of Status of Women Central strongly
support the building of the Youth Addictions Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Jackie Thompson

Regional Co-ordinator Status of Women Central Grand Falls-Windsor