DRUG COUNSELLOR MISSED

ROCKRIDGE junior secondary students with drug and alcohol problems are not
getting the help they need, according to one of the school's counsellors.

Said Ardath Hoole, a counsellor at Rockridge, "My business is making sure
that the kids are serviced and that is not happening right now. I am just
here raising the red flag. We have nothing in our school now. Who's caring
for the kids?"

Hoole said that the school had a counsellor who came in one day a week from
Seaview Addiction Services Society and provided drug and alcohol
counselling to the kids, taught classes on the subject, provided prevention
and education programs and worked with parents and teachers.

This same counsellor provided similar services to West Vancouver secondary
and Sentinel secondary schools.

Said Hoole, "She was wonderful, top-notch. She related well to the kids and
the parents and was highly qualified. And then all of a sudden something
happened and the next thing we knew she was not working there anymore and
we have nobody coming into the school."

Rockridge principal Maureen Smiley shares Hoole's concerns and her
enthusiasm for the work of the previous counsellor.

"She was the best thing that ever happened for us and the kids and she was
making a real difference. She had a fabulous rapport with the kids and the
parents and then whatever happened over the summer, bingo, she was gone,"
said Smiley.

This summer seven of Seaview's counsellors were suspended, a result, they
claim, of having sent a letter outlining their concerns about changes
happening at the centre to the local health authority. The concerns were
about fiscal management and program restructuring at the centre. Seaview
receives government funding to provide treatment services on a wide range
of addictions, including alcoholism, substance abuse, gambling, shopping
and sex addiction. The counsellor who provided services to the West
Vancouver schools is one of those no longer working at Seaview. She is now
employed by another North Shore agency.

While Seaview says that it has reduced staff numbers as part of a
restructuring of its services, they did hire some new staff.

Seaview's executive director Donna Baird said unlike previous staff that
specialized in working either with youth, adults or seniors, Seaview
intends to have all counsellors able to work with all age groups.

"We faced a funding freeze from the government and a potential $175,000
deficit and had to restructure our programs," said Baird.

"It is a luxury to have one of our counsellors in the school hanging out
with the kids and it is a luxury we can't afford. It's not an efficient or
effective use of time."

Baird said that Seaview had two youth counsellors for the entire North
Shore and that representatives of Seaview met with officials of the West
Vancouver school board last year to inform them of their intention to
restructure the services they offer.

But Geoff Jopson, West Vancouver school district superintendent, said he
was formally informed of the intention to pull the counsellor in September,
after the school year had begun.

Said Jopson, "I understand the pressures they are under, but we have to
look after the needs of our students. It is our job to advocate for the
children and youth."

Jopson emphasized that substance abuse is not just a school problem, it is
a community problem and that while schools want to be part of the solution,
they need the proper supports in place in order to do that.

Jopson, Hoole and Smiley all expressed a belief that having a counsellor at
the school is integral to the success of dealing with drug and alcohol
problems with adolescents.

Said Hoole, "If you know anything about adolescents or have any
appreciation of the developmental stage they are at then you will know that
you have to be where they are."

Hoole said that she knows of a group of kids in need of help that were not
serviced over the summer "and that never would have happened" if she (the
counsellor) had been here.

"She wouldn't have let that happen. And to have kids who are asking for
help and not getting any is a terrible shame."

Baird denies that anyone has gone without help.

"Every person who has called in to our agency has received help and we have
the records to prove it," she said. "We have had some trouble with former
employees starting these rumours."

But Hoole and Smiley both say they are not interested in the internal
politics of the agency.

Said Hoole, "Whether the adults have some problems with the organization,
that's irrelevant. This is about the kids."

According to Hoole, the kids are asking for the former counsellor and
wondering when someone might be coming in.

"Kids are coming in now and saying, 'Where's Carrie?' 'Is anyone else
coming in?' and I have to say I don't know."

Hoole says she doesn't understand why anyone would consider eliminating the
service.

"The program we had was extremely successful. The counsellors bonded with
the kids. The kids need people who are very qualified and we had one," she
said.

Baird said she believes the criticism being raised is a result of people
not liking change.

"People don't like change, they are resistant to it. I also attribute it to
the fact that last year's program was such a success," said Baird.

Baird said that Seaview has offered to train the school counsellors in
addiction work, but acknowledges that they may not have time to take on
that work in addition to their present responsibilities, and also that drug
and alcohol addictions counsellors normally have to have an university
master's degree and receive specialized training in the field.

Baird said that if a school submits a request outlining specific prevention
needs, such as to have a counsellor come and speak to a class, her agency
will still honour those requests.

Meanwhile the school district superintendent said that he hopes to continue
to work with Seaview to try to find a solution that will meet the needs of
students and the community.