HAVEN OPENS HOME FOR WOMEN AT RISK

A new facility in Nanaimo will help keep women at risk off the street. A
group home for women exiting the sex trade could be up and running by
October. Targeted residents will be women leaving prostitution following
drug or alcohol treatment programs.

For Haven House, the organization hosting the pilot project, the home will
be a key component in the process of helping women escape life on the streets.

The current resources just aren't enough, says Haven House executive
director Jane Templeman.

Clearview Detox in Nanaimo can help women through the medical crisis of
addiction, she says, but in researching the need for housing it became
apparent that follow-up resources - now limited to a 30-day supportive
recovery program at Clearview - were inadequate.

"On the other end oftentimes there is not suitable housing and supports in
place to continue the new habits," Templeman says.

"By nature and by default they move back into their old neighbourhood,
literally - their old habits and addictions S It can be one step forward,
two steps back."

The planned shelter will provide the stability women need to get a start in
their recovery.

While a full recovery can take two years, the shelter will provide about
six months of structured care to help break the addictive patterns.

"Certainly what we heard is having a good six months is critical to making
it through the two years," Templeman says.

The new shelter is part of a part of the $1.4-million Supporting Community
Partnerships Initiative set up by Human Resources and Development Canada.
The city of Nanaimo also pitched in $65,000.

The initiative is battling homelessness on three fronts in Nanaimo. Planned
facilities include a temporary emergency shelter for adults, youth and sex
trade workers, plus a wrap-around service for people with other housing needs.

The shelter for at-risk women will include meals, on-site staff,
counselling and security.

Templeman also sees the facility offering learning opportunities and
workshops addressing everything from literacy to health needs. About 15
residents will benefit from the shelter over the next year, Templeman
hopes, plus the home will serve as an outreach for other women. The
obstacle will be to secure funding to keep the home operating past the
first year. The shelter will receive $374,000 of the $1.4 million, but that
will only provide funding for one year.

Templeman hopes the province will get involved in following years. The
community, meanwhile, is already rallying behind the project. "There's real
excitement in the community," Templeman says. "People want to give women a
different opportunity."

Haven Society is now searching for an appropriate home for the shelter. The
house requires five to seven bedrooms plus appropriate zoning.