'CLEAN' FOR SIX MONTHS, THEN MOVED TO BRIDGE HOUSE

The Salvation Army does not accept the point made by the majority of
addicts interviewed last week by the Abbotsford News. Two-thirds of the
addicts said the location of a proposed "bridge house" and a transient
shelter in Abbotsford's downtown area would drive them back to their
addictions.

Major Ron Cartmell, pastor of the Salvation Army in Abbotsford, said it
must be understood that men would not be moved to a bridge house until they
have been clean for at least six months and have support in the community.

Recovering addicts and alcoholics at Kinghaven interviewed by the
Abbotsford News said the downtown Abbotsford area is their "war zone." The
majority said they would not want to live in downtown in a bridge house
because they will be targetted by drug dealers and all their "triggers" are
in close proximity.

Combining a shelter for transients - with the propensity of transients for
crime and drug dealing - with a bridge house for recovering addicts was
particularly troublesome to them.

The Abbotsford News interviewed 48 addicts and alcoholics with 31 of them
saying a bridge house in downtown Abbotsford for recovering substance
abusers would not work. When asked where they they think they should live
to have the best chance of recovery, they said: either "a quiet rural area
or a safe home in the suburbs."

None said downtown. (See Page A1, last Saturday's edition of the Abbotsford
News).

Ken Hyette, director of Miracle Valley, said the viewpoints lacked the
necessary context.

Kinghaven offers short-term treatment, while the Salvation Army provides a
long-term continuum of care for addicts with a bridge house provided in the
community where there is counselling support, job training and employment
opportunities, said Hyette. It is a model that is used successfully by the
Salvation Army in many city downtown areas, including two bridge houses in
downtown Vancouver, for example, he said.

Cartmell also noted that clean and stable addicts often work in the food
lines at Care and Share Centres and they serve as models for others who are
still entrenched in the addiction lifestyle. "It is our firm belief that a
bridge house will help the downtown area get better, not worse," said Cartmell.

Mary Reeves, manager of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association, said
the Salvation Army should listen to what is best for the addicts and choose
a different location. Business owners say downtown Abbotsford will
deteriorate into an area like eastside Vancouver if the Salvation Army
proposal to expand its Cyril Street operation is approved.

The City of Abbotsford is holding a hearing on Monday at 7 p.m. to listen
to the public's viewpoints on the Salvation Army proposal to build a
shelter for 12 transients and and provide a bridge house with low-cost
housing and support for nine recovering addicts from Miracle Valley at its
Cyril Street Care and Share location. The organization is seeking the
city's permission to change the current C-5 (commercial zoning) on the
property. The current Morey Street shelter for nine transients would be
closed if the proposal is approved.

Reeves said city council should deny the proposal to prevent the area from
degenerating further because there are too many liquor establishments,
social service agencies and other outlets attracting people involved in
crime and drugs.

Police were not asked by council to do a report on the proposal to identify
the potential crime factors, according to the principles of Criminal
Prevention through Environmental Design - another point that worries
critics of the project.

The Salvation Army may buy the Cyril Street property if the rezoning is
approved, provided it can raise the money and the owners clean up the
contaminated soil from a (decommissioned) gas station, said Cartmell.