NEW DETOX OPENS NEAR HOSPITAL

Help for this city's most drug addicted has arrived.

Creekside Withdrawal Management Centre, funded by the province through
the Fraser Health Authority (FHA), was officially opened Thursday at
13740 94A Ave., across from Surrey Memorial Hospital.

It includes 30 beds for drug and alcohol detoxification -- 24 for
adults and six for youth.

Creekside replaces Burnaby's Maple Cottage, which supported 1,200
people annually.

Service providers have long said Surrey is in desperate need of drug
detox beds. At Whalley's Front Room drop-in centre, in the 10600-block
of 135A Street, about two people a day come in to call for a detox
bed.

The Front Room's Annette Welsh said the new centre is great
news.

"We do have some dedicated youth beds, which I think is amazing,"
Welsh said. "That's a huge bonus."

Currently, if someone appears at the Front Room drunk, stoned or
withdrawing to the point of needing medical attention, they are sent
to the emergency ward. Creekside will offer a better option.

"We've been pushing for a detox facility in Surrey for years," Mayor
Dianne Watts said. "To have it open up here in Surrey today is
something the city really needs."

She said it fits in well with the city's crime reduction strategy to
address the root causes of crime.

The site is owned by the FHA and the Surrey Memorial Hospital
Foundation donated a portion of the land for the centre.

The building centre also includes space for a "daytox" program and
office space.