ROUGH EXPERIENCE CAN HELP ADDICTS

Marshall Smith may have been a "bad guy" on drug-infested inner-city
streets, but that makes him the best guy to run Lorne Mayencourt's
groundbreaking addiction-recovery centre, the former MLA says.

"Just like Marshall was a mover and shaker in government, he became
the same in the Vancouver drug scene -- he knew all the tricks," says
Mayencourt, founder of the Baldy Hughes "therapeutic community" in
Prince George.

"That's now an advantage for him. He's been there, so he knows how the
addict thinks and he's hip to their behaviour.

"It gives him credibility, and they respect him for
it."

Baldy Hughes operates out of a former military based leased by a
nonprofit society.

The 85-bed facility offers long-term residential treatment, where
clients learn vocational skills in addition to kicking their habits.

The B.C. Housing Ministry has pumped nearly $2 million into the
project and Mayencourt reveals the government is keenly interested in
the "recovery community" model.

"I know the government has bought a couple of other similar-sized
properties, with a view to creating more of them," he said.