DRUG FORUM TAKES TO THE STAGE

A scale model of a detox centre for girls will be on display at a free
drug forum in Abbotsford next Wednesday.

The model represents a 6,000-square-foot, 12-bed facility in the
planning stages by a committee called DREAM (Discover, Re-energize and
Move Forward).

DREAM has been working on establishing the centre - for girls 18 and
under - for more than two years.

Chairman Uultsje DeJong said plans are still in the initial stages,
and the next step is to begin a fund-raising campaign. Meanwhile, the
group is one of several participating in the drug forum, taking place
at the Abbey Arts Centre and hosted by the Abbotsford school board in
partnership with DREAM.

The forum begins at 7 p.m., with DeJong providing an overview of DREAM
and its plans. Also speaking will be MP Randy White, Const. Kevin
Murray, Frank Roffel, a crisis counsellor at Yale Secondary and John
Constible, whose daughter, Christena, was addicted to heroin and died
from a prescription-drug overdose.