CITY TO FINALLY GET YOUTH DETOX CENTRE IN THE FALL

If everything goes according to schedule, a youth detoxification centre
will finally open in Kelowna by the fall.

Okanagan Families Society, a local non-profit society which operates a
variety of youth and family services, was chosen by the Kelowna Steering
Committee on Homelessness this spring to establish the youth detox.

Ira Roness, an alcohol and drug councilor who will run the program, said
the society is in 'full planning mode' with the aim of having the facility
open by October.

What's currently on the drawing board, Roness said, is a two-bed facility
plus a transition suite. 'That would be for someone who has gone through
one of the beds,' he added.

His role as coordinator will be to steer youth who come through the detox
centre into a full range of services ranging from assessment and treatment
to counseling and follow-up services, either through his own society or
other outside agencies.

'For many people, the issue of substance dependency is a long long thing,'
said Roness.

'You can't just expect them to come in and deal with it in two weeks.'

Roness added that youth battling addictions have some different issues than
adults.

'You have to approach young addicts in a different way than you would an
adult whose say, been drinking steady for 20 years,' he said.

Roness said the society is planning a direct outreach program for homeless
youth with links to other community agencies.

The society has been given $350,000 to construct and run the facility until
September, 2003 by the Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative, a
federal program to reduce homelessness run by Minister of Labour Claudette
Bradshaw.

The youth detox is just one of four programs in the Central Okanagan that
were recently given approval. Okanagan Families got the nod after
Crossroads Treatment Centre Society withdrew its original proposal.

Crossroads, which runs the adult detox centre in Rutland, could not
guarantee separation between youth and the adult clients it currently serves.

The homelessness committee was formed in January of 2001 to identify needs
and develop programs to combat homeless in the city.

The other three programs that were approved were:

* The Kelowna Drop-in Centre--$200,000 for a street outreach program.

* NOW Canada--$600,000 for a womens' shelter.

* Ki-low-na Friendship Centre--$600,000 for youth and aboriginal youth
supportive housing.

Those programs have already begun operating.