HALDI ROAD RESIDENTS BLAST PLANS FOR ADDICTIONS TREATMENT FACILITY

Tension filled the air.

Tempers flared - and cooled.

There was no gavel to help restore decorum when audience members spoke
out of turn.

During his presentation Wednesday night to more than 150 Haldi Road
area residents, Marshall Smith was often met with loud jeers and angry
shouts as he did his best to pitch plans for a women's addiction
treatment centre and field dozens of questions.

Smith is project manager for the proposed Northern Supportive Recovery
Centre for Women. Earlier this year, he left his post as executive
director of the Baldy Hughes Recovery Centre for men.

The open house and community information meeting is the first step in
a long process which includes property rezoning applications,
presentations to city council, more public hearings and water tests.
Smith's group, a non-profit society, intends to lease the proposed
facility, which will house up to 30 women who want to be clean from
drug or alcohol addictions and deal with underlying issues. Clients
must be "motivated to change," he said.

With 24-hour professional staffing and long-term rehab program (with
stays up to one year), the centre is being planned for 5877 Leslie
Road, a former school. Area residents made it clear, however, that
they have concerns. They listened, often impatiently, as Smith
outlined the philosophy, purpose and plans for the centre. They heard
planning consultant Heather Oland explain the rezoning process.

Then it was their turn.

A Gatling-gun style of rapid-fire, pointed questions kept them busy
until the scheduled two-hour meeting ended shortly before 9 p.m. Many
who spoke agreed there's need for a women's addictions treatment
centre for the North but they questioned the centre's proposed
location, in their neighbourhood.

They asked about their personal safety, and the possibility of setting
precedents for similar centres in the area. They wanted details of how
the centre will be run and the maximum number of people it will serve.
They expressed concern about property values. One of the key issues,
they said, is how much strain the new centre would put on the area's
water supplies. Oland advised them the process includes a hydro
geologist's report and well tests completed on neighbouring properties
to see if there is any (negative) impact.

"Why not just have it at Hutla Lake with all the facilities?" asked
one resident.

"We looked at the facility and we ruled it out," said Smith. "It's not
cost-effective to retrofit it for our purposes. It is not financially
viable. With all the good intentions that we have for these facilities
- - they still have to make sense financially. It would take $10 million
to upgrade."

He added that the property now has only a caretaker in residence and
10 empty cabins and has been "mothballed" for 10 years.

To the age-old "not in my backyard" dilemma, some asked why such a
centre would be placed in the middle of a rural, residential area. In
one exchange, Smith, who had just talked on being open-minded, said,
"I would be honoured to have this facility in my backyard," opening
himself up to the retort: "Then have it there."

Another resident asked: "Why can't you just go further
out?"

"There is no answer to that," said Smith. "We found this (former
school) facility and we like this facility." He also pointed to the
poignant "history" of this particular site. When some people in the
audience shouted: "What history?" Smith related the story of Alicia
Germaine.

"On December 9, 1994 ... three kids walking through the school yard
found her dead body. So we would want to pay tribute to that," said
Smith.

"What's wrong with a monument" a man shot back. "Go down to
Vancouver's Eastside and you'll see that three out of four nights.
What's your point?"

Despite outbursts from the audience, Smith gave assurances that the
centre would have a strict "no using" policy and friend/family
visitation rules. He outlined plans for improving and refurbishing the
building's interior and grounds. He said the facility's women
residents would take part in programs such as gardening and having
vegetables "to share with the neighbourhood" as a way of connecting
and also make available artisan breads. There would also be a
community advisory board, he said, "so you can have a say in what goes
on."

However, Eric Peters seemed to speak for the majority of those
present when he stood up and in a firm voice told Smith: "It's pretty
clear this community doesn't want this (facility). If you took a vote
right now of people who don't want this ... (he stops as loud 'nos'
fill the room): We don't want this. What is there left to discuss?"

For more information about the Northern Supportive Recovery Society
and its program visit www.NorthernWomen.com .