TURNING ADDICTS TO THE STREETS?

NIAGARA FALLS -- More than 300 Niagara residents will be denied access
to drug and alcohol treatment programs for six weeks early next year
if the province doesn't offer up the $122,000 required to meet a
budget shortfall.

"There's no way to make it up," said Norma Medulun, Hotel Dieu
Hospital's director of addictions, autism and developmental services,
which oversees the men's and women's withdrawl management programs.
"We've done what we can do to reduce all costs and still find
ourselves with a shortfall. We're hoping there will be some financial
assistance for us to avoid that temporary closure."

The men's and women's withdrawal programs -- with a combined admission
of 19,500 people each year -- are set to close Feb. 17 through April
1, 2005, when the new fiscal year begins. In addition to leaving what
Medulun calls "a very vulnerable portion of the population" without
access to the week-long sessions, the closure will also mean the
suspension of services such as patient drop-in and telephone support.

"Every admission is an opportunity for an intervention," she said.
"While we're closed, there's no opportunity for intervention. We're
hoping there will be a solution long before the 11th hour."

In a letter to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Medulun
pointed out it has been more than a decade since the program's base
funding was increased. A three-week closure is anticipated for 2006,
she cautioned, if funding continues at the same rate.

"Over the past 12 years, virtually no increase to the base budget of
these programs has been received," Medulun wrote.

"However, costs associated with programs has continued to rise. This
has placed continued negative pressure on the budget and associated
resources."

It has also put a strain on other budgets and programs, said Niagara
Falls regional Coun. Bill Smeaton, who fears leaving people in need of
addictions help with nowhere to go will lead to overcrowded jails.

"What I worry about -- and the deputy (police) chief (Donna Moody),
agrees -- is that if there's no place to take them, even for an
abbreviated period of time, they'll end up in jail," he said.

Although some in need of the withdrawal services live with their
families and live outwardly normal lives, in most cases, Smeaton said,
people end up on the street. Putting people in jail, he said, either
to protect them from harming themselves or because they've committed a
crime, would cost more than the $122,000 needed to keep the centre
open.

"I know there's never enough bucks for everything, but this is a huge
problem," he said.

Smeaton, who sits on the District Health Council and Police Services
Board, said he believes it's time to begin looking at alternative
revenue sources to fund programs like the withdrawal management
program, including putting a nominal tax on alcoholic beverages which
would go back into the regional or provincial coffers to pay for their
operation. Although that option hasn't been discussed yet, much less
endorsed, Smeaton said it's time to start thinking outside the box.

"Reasonable minds will almost always come up with a reasonable
solution, if given a chance," he said. "An extra penny here and there
will go a long way. And I think the public will accept it, if it's for
a bona-fide cause and if it's used specifically for what it's
collected for."

In the meantime, however, Smeaton hopes public pressure will lead to
the provincial health ministry stepping in with the money needed to
keep the centre afloat, while alternative means of funding are explored.

"Our needs are quite considerable, and the problem is the funds," he
said. "If we can make enough noise about this now, perhaps we can find
a solution before the weather gets really bad."