MISSION MAY SOON HAVE DETOX FOR YOUTH

Addicted teenagers in Mission and the Fraser Valley may soon have a place
where they can get clean and receive treatment and counselling.

Mayor Abe Neufeld said the city could be taking over the former Boulder Bay
youth custody camp near Pine and Alouette Lakes, about an hour's drive from
Mission.

"It's gorgeous up there. It's a wonderful facility," Neufeld said, who
helped to manage the camp in his former capacity as the regional manager
for B.C. Corrections.

He said he was notified by the B.C. Building Corporation that the crown
corporation wanted to release the remote property, possibly "returning it
to nature."

However, Neufeld thought the camp, used for about 40 years by B.C.
Corrections, could be put to some use as a much-needed drug detox and
treatment centre.

"We said we'd take it over only if we could find suitable organization to
run the facility," he said last week.

That group will likely be the Pacific Community Resources Society, with
bases in Surrey and Vancouver. Neufeld says the organization is highly
credible and has a staff of 125 and an $8.5-million budget, Neufeld said.

Pacific staff have been to the camp a few times and are currently
developing a financial plan with an accounting firm. More detailed plans
could be shown to the city by month's end, he said.

"They're very well organized and very professional. They're also supported
by the Central City Mission Foundation," another well-respected
organization, Neufeld added.

Boulder Bay has about $350,000 in buildings, including eight cabin
dormitories, a fully equipped kitchen, a gym, classrooms, hobby space, its
own sanitation system and two diesel generators.

One of the challenges of the camp is its remoteness - much of the road is
accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles. However, that could be a good
thing for some programs, the mayor said.

Neufeld said the youth centre would draw teens from Mission but also be
open for kids elsewhere from the Lower Mainland. He said there's definitely
a need for such facilities. Currently a handful of beds are available for
teenagers at a publicly run facility in New Westminster and there is always
a waiting list.

"Absolutely there's a need. We're cognizant of the substance abuse
challenges that are facing our community, as well as every other
community," Neufeld said.

Funding would come from provincial and federal sources, grants from groups
such as the Central City Mission Foundation.

"[Pacific Community Resources] will also likely want to tap into the four
pillar funding that's anticipated to come from the federal government," he
said.