DRUG POLICY CO-ORDINATOR NOW IN PLACE

After a two-year search, the regional district has hired a
co-ordinator to lead the charge against drug and alcohol abuse.

No one's saying who the winning candidate is, even though she started
work on Monday. Staff are setting up her office and working out other
details before she's introduced in early September, said human
resources director Gary Leier.

"We needed to get the right person for the position," he said
Thursday. "The task is too important to do otherwise. We'd rather have
waited until the right candidate came along."

The Four Pillars Coalition, a group of local volunteers, recommended
creating the $70,000-a-year position to harmonize the region's
anti-drug efforts. The co-ordinator will work with service providers
such as Interior Health, Living Positive Resource Centre, the Okanagan
Boys and Girls Club and the Kelowna Gospel Mission.

"It will be a daunting task with the increase in drug activity on the
streets," said Living Positive's Daryle Roberts. "I'd ask the
community to not have a lot of expectations immediately."

The co-ordinator's job is to reduce service overlap by working as a
conduit between the agencies. She'll eventually help develop new ways
to support people with addictions. Prevention and education will be
key components.

"One of the first tasks of the drug-policy co-ordinator is to review
what's been done and whether the priorities of the past are the
priorities of today," said Leier.

The RCMP have worked hard to crack down on drug dealing and open drug
use in Kelowna. Other agencies are trying to bolster the other three
pillars of the four-pillar approach - education, harm reduction and
prevention/treatment.

Interior Health has expanded its hours at the downtown Outreach Urban
Health clinic to five days. Medical staff treat marginalized people
and addicts who would otherwise wait in Kelowna General Hospital's
emergency department.

But the lack of housing for poor people remains a major obstacle in
the city. Advocates argue proper shelter gives them pride and helps
wean them from drug activity.

The search for a co-ordinator has been a challenge because of the
tight labour market and the nature of the job, said regional district
spokesman Bruce Smith.

"It's rather unique in local government," he said. "The co-ordinator
will provide new channels of communication between agencies and
identify sources of funding."

The Union of B.C. Municipalities is contributing $35,000 toward the
position. The regional hospital district has allocated another
$100,000 in local tax revenue for one year.

The coalition recommended that the co-ordinator work for a minimum 10
years, with funding from the province and Ottawa.