NEW FACILITY HOPES TO GIVE NEW HOPE TO YOUNG ADDICTS

Young people dealing with addiction have another option to help them
turn around their lives: a long-term treatment facility slated to open
in the quiet B.C. countryside near Keremeos.

A ceremony yesterday marked the completion of construction of The
Crossing, a 42-bed facility on a 24-hectare site about six kilometres
from Keremeos. Staff have been hired and the first clients have been
accepted.

Central City Foundation, which owns the property and is leasing it at
no cost to the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health authorities, has
pledged another $1 million to the project and raised $5.5 million more
from private donors.

The Crossing will help both boys and girls. The existing Last Door
Recovery Society has operated a long-term, residential treatment
centre for male youth in B.C. for more than 13 years, and an adult
program for 25 years.

"We feel enormously proud of the effort the foundation has put
forward," said Jennifer Johnstone, Central City Foundation president
and chief executive.

The Crossing will operate with about $2.4 million in annual funding
from the two Lower Mainland health authorities, while Interior Health
will provide urgent or emergency services.

Boys and girls up to age 24 will stay at The Crossing for up to a year
and will get therapy, education and job training.