RECOVERY CENTRE GETS EARLY APPROVAL

A drug and alcohol recovery centre planned for a property near Surrey
Memorial Hospital has been given preliminary council approval, despite
the fact it no longer includes a "desperately" needed detox facility.

Phoenix Recovery Society plans to build a recovery centre and
transitional housing facility at 13686 94A Ave. The proposal has been
scaled down from one made last month, when the proponents hoped to
include a homeless shelter and detox facility.

Mayor Doug McCallum was upset that the detox component is no longer
part of the plan.

"We desperately need medical detox in this area, desperately,"
McCallum said. "That's why we initially supported (the project)."

Phoenix Recovery Society had originally planned a 10-bed "social"
detox, a place for those in need of drug withdrawal management.

A step down from traditional medical detox, social detoxification
offers a doctor's assessment of a patient and early medical treatment
if necessary.

Michael Wilson, executive director for Phoenix, said he reluctantly
removed the detox from the plan because he doesn't have the funding
from the Fraser Health Authority (FHA).

Also absent from the plan this month is a 10-bed homeless shelter,
which received criticism from council when it was proposed last month.

As it stands, the planned three-storey facility will offer 28 drug and
alcohol recovery beds and 36 affordable housing units, with room for
expanded services, which may eventually include an medical clinic.