KIWANIS HOUSE RESCUED

A group of private investors has come forward to keep the city's only
residential addiction-treatment facility from closing.

"It was a Christmas miracle for sure," executive director Murphy
Kennedy said Thursday.

Kennedy said six people in Kamloops have banded together and offered
temporary financial relief for the non-profit agency.

The 37-year-old Kiwanis House, slated to lay off staff on Boxing Day
after 'graduating' its last group of six clients last week, has a
$400,000 debt and a small contract with Interior Health that wasn't
enough to cover the bills.

That, coupled with the fact a marketing campaign aimed at attracting
paying clients hadn't had enough time to take effect, forced the
board to announce it was shutting the doors.

The reprieve has allowed Kiwanis to keep its staff on and start
booking clients for the next 33-day treatment program that begins in
early January.

"Staff layoff notices have been rescinded and they have been in full
agreement to come back," Kennedy said.

"The goal of both the board and this group of individuals is the long
term. The discussions haven't gotten underway. Really what there is
is an agreement in principle to keep us open and negotiate in good
faith a new deal. Whether that means remaining as a society or these
individuals purchasing the property is yet to be seen. There will be
a meeting in early January to sort that all out," he explained.

"One thing that's for sure is we are all agreed that Kiwanis House is
open for business and will remain that way."

The investors want to remain anonymous at this time, he said.

Kiwanis did lose one of its 15 employees after layoff notices were
issued two weeks ago. Kennedy said that was a matter of timing - the
staffer had to make a decision and went ahead with another job before
it was known that a deal was being struck with the investors.

So far, there are eight clients booked to fill Kiwanis's 21 beds on
Jan. 6. Three of those beds are funded by the Interior Health
Authority, whose contract with the agency expires March 31.

Last spring, the non-profit group and Interior Health agreed, for the
most part, to go their separate ways.

IHA had wanted Kiwanis to provide supportive housing - a place for
recovering addicts to get food and shelter, with counselling services
provided elsewhere.

IHA said it was shifting to a harm-reduction model, whereby clients
who slipped up and used drugs or alcohol would be removed from the
contracted facility for a short period of time, but could re-enter the program.

Kiwanis wanted to stay with its historical program, with an emphasis
on even more intensive treatment.

As a result, the spring announcement said IHA would go from funding
all 21 beds to covering the cost of three. Kiwanis said it planned on
marketing itself to private paying customers to fill the other beds.
The three-bed contract with Interior Health expires March 31, 2008.

Interior Health established a 30-bed contract with New Life Mission
and House of Ruth to provide supportive housing. Those who need it
can get access to an addictions counsellor off site.

Kennedy noted there was obviously not going to be any political help
in changing Interior Health's shift to saving Kiwanis's abstinence program.

"The minister of health has spoken quite clearly. And he's stated he
was not interested in abstinence-based, intense treatment and he
would not intervene," he said.

"IHA is not elected. Our MLAs and the minister of health are elected.
But it seems that they're unable or unwilling. . . . I'm saying the
same thing everyone else is - 'Wow, IHA has a lot of power to decide.' "

He felt Krueger and Richmond should have talked to some of the people
who deal with addictions in Kamloops beyond Interior Health to get a
feel for what services the community needs.

"I don't think there was a fair canvassing of the addictions
physicians in town, the employers, the employee assistance program
managers in the region," he said.

"There's just another opinion out there that's very strong -
obviously, because these six (investors) have put their money into it."

While Kiwanis is now staying open, it will be paying clients who will
be the focus. The three publicly funded IHA beds might not be renewed
after March 31.

Those three beds, often used by people on welfare or with no means to
pay, have been full since last spring when IHA changed its contract
with Kiwanis.

Kennedy said now that there's a solid financial footing for Kiwanis,
the marketing effort will move forward again.

"We'll continue on with our marketing as is. Depending how things go,
there would certainly need to be more marketing done," he said.

"I don't know how things are going to turn out but I am confident
this group of six is in it for the long term."