DETOX CENTRE JUST FIRST STEP: ORGANIZER

Getting a detox facility to help local addicts dry out is just a first step
towards getting a longer-term addictions treatment centre in Red Deer, says
an organizer.

Jim Taylor, project development manager for the Safe Harbour Society, said
the real hope of getting people off of alcohol and drugs lies in their
obtaining longer term treatment.

A detoxification centre, such as the one proposed in a controversial
location at 4816 Gaetz Avenue, will get people hooked on substances through
the initial withdrawal phase. Centre stays are about a week.

Unfortunately many addicts will need extended therapy to break their
dependency, said Taylor, who expects to see some clients return for
detoxification several times while waiting to get into treatment facilities
in Calgary or Edmonton.

Taylor believes Red Deer has a big enough addictions problem to warrant its
own long-term treatment centre.

But so far, the Safe Harbour Society only has funding from AADAC to open a
detox centre for 20 clients and an overnight shelter for up to 20 more
homeless and addicted people.

Once a location for these two services is nailed down with a city permit,
Taylor hopes the group can focus on the bigger picture.

The Safe Harbour Society will hold a public meeting on Sept. 21 to get
public input on the proposed location in the Scott Block, a former
paintball facility on Gaetz Avenue.

While many area merchants remain opposed to that spot, citing fears about
safety, loitering, loss of business and property values, Taylor noted a
shelter for addicted people ran last winter in another part of Red Deer -
with no complaints from neighbours.

"It was like we were invisible."

Andy's Place was located off 51 Avenue, near 47th Street - an area with
fewer gift shops and more automotive and light industrial services than the
Gaetz Avenue location.

Taylor said the Gaetz Avenue building is mostly under consideration because
it's central and offers enough space on a single floor for both the shelter
and detox program. The two must run together because of stipulations of the
AADAC grant.

A similar controversy erupted in 2000 when a halfway house for inmates from
Bowden Institution was seeking a space in downtown Red Deer.

That facility finally opened in 2002 in the former Park Hotel on Ross
Street. Besides the recent case of a Horizon House inmate reoffending,
there have been no complaints from neighbouring retailers about that
facility, say police.

But some Gaetz Avenue retailers believe there's no comparison between
running a shelter for addicts and a halfway house for inmates. "It's like
comparing apples to oranges," said shop owner and city councillor Lorna
Watkinson-Zimmer.

Unlike the shelter, Horizon House has only eight to 18 inmates. They are
not to be intoxicated and must hold jobs or be in training programs during
the day.