ADDICTS SEEKING HELP NEED IT QUICKLY

Our Key Recommendations: 4. Drug Treatment

THE RECOMMENDATION

Put an end to wait-lists by creating more detox and long-term
treatment beds that are licensed, regulated and inspected. Locate
facilities outside the Downtown Eastside so addicts have a chance of
success in staying clean.

WHY IT'S NEEDED

Downtown Eastside social agencies cite wait-lists as key barriers to
treatment for addicts. Studies indicate addicts treated outside the
Downtown Eastside also fare better: B.C. Centre for Excellence in
HIV/AIDS research showed 192 injection drug users who moved out of the
area were less likely to inject drugs and more likely to obtain stable
housing than a control group who stayed in the area.

THE BACKGROUND

Studies have estimated anywhere from 7,000 to 12,000 injection drug
users live in Metro Vancouver; a 2001 Vancouver Coastal Health report
put the figure at 4,700 users in the Downtown Eastside alone. To treat
them, the province funds 2,662 addictions treatment beds (about 250
for detox) in B.C. as of 2008/09.

That's an increase from the 2007/2008 tally of 2,186 beds. About a
dozen privately funded residential addiction treatment centres also
operate in B.C.

IN A NUTSHELL

"Our wait-list has consistently been three to four months. There are
not enough beds in the community to meet the need. There is nothing
worse than when a person phones us and says, 'I am desperate today to
do anything to get clean and sober,' and we have to say, "Hold that
thought for three months," says Turning Point Recovery Society's
Brenda L. Plant, the executive director of the licensed non-profit,
which has 31 beds in Vancouver and Richmond and has treated 2,000
addicts since its inception in 1982.

"Now there's even a wait-list for detox beds. So we have nothing to
offer them, other than to send them to a 12-step program or outpatient
program. For people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness or who
have concurrent mental health problems, we just don't have enough for
them . . . We throw these people away like they don't matter."

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

B.C.'s Ministry of Health Services is responsible for funding many of
the province's addictions beds. In 2009/10, the ministry expects to
spend $1.26 billion on mental health and addictions.

The government states it has increased addictions beds in B.C. by 205
per cent since 2003, while boosting the mental health and addictions
budget by 48 per cent since 2000/01. The Ministry of Housing and
Social Development also provides some funding to facilities for
welfare recipients in residential treatment.

WHAT THEY SAY

"Our government is committed to providing the best supports for people
facing challenges associated

To catch up on our series or to join the discussion, go to
theprovince.com/news/operation-phoenix

with mental illness and addictions," Minister of Health Services Kevin
Falcon said in a statement.

"Since 2001, we've seen significant improvements. Budget 2009
continued government's commitment to health care by providing an
additional $945 million for the Ministry of Health Services and health
authorities.

" And over the next three years, funding for health services will
increase by approximately 20 per cent." eoconnor@theprovince.com