SAGKEENG TREATMENT CENTRE RISING OUT OF VFAF'S ASHES

A drug and alcohol treatment centre in Sagkeeng First Nation that
provides counselling for entire families has a waiting list of over a
year.

Executive director Susan Thomas says that shows the centre is on the
right track.

"I think we're fast becoming pretty well known," said Thomas. She's
hoping the centre, which has a budget of just over $1 million, can get
more funding.

The Sagkeeng Mino Pimatiziwin Family Treatment Centre has been open
since November 2004.

It operates out of the same building that used to house the
scandal-ridden Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation, which shut in
2000. According to police, millions of federal dollars were used to
buy condos, expensive cars and exotic trips. Between 1994 and 2000,
VFAF received more than $60 million in federal funding. Paul Cochrane,
a former assistant deputy minister for Health Canada, admitted to
pocketing $200,000 in bribes and was given a one-year jail sentence.

Although they have no connection to VFAF, Thomas said the scandal
hasn't been completely forgotten.

"I've never felt any direct prejudice or judgment but certainly having
that happen here, in this very building we're in, you kind of wonder,"
said Thomas. "I very much feel like we're the phoenix trying to rise
out of the ashes."

Thomas, a social worker by training, said she believes the centre is
making strides. For example, it now gets its funding directly from the
regional office of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch instead
of having to deal directly with Ottawa. Thomas says that's a sign of
the federal government's growing confidence in the centre

She said they are also working to get accredited by the Canadian
Council on Health Services Accreditation. The CCHSA helps to ensure a
high level of quality service.

The centre, which has a staff of 18, can accommodate four families at
a time. Thomas said most of their clients come from Ontario, Manitoba
and Saskatchewan, with the majority being single moms and their kids.
The centre has a school for kids and a day-care centre for
preschoolers.

Counselling sessions run for seven weeks, six times a year, and have
an aboriginal cultural component with sweats and sharing circles.
Thomas said they deal with alcohol dependency and drug addictions
ranging from prescriptions drugs to cocaine. She said it's important
the family is treated as a whole as children can be victimized
physically and emotionally by addicted parents. Thomas said the centre
follows up with clients once they are discharged.

Sagkeeng First Nation is located about 120 kilometres northeast of
Winnipeg.