WAR STRENGTHENED AGAINST SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Sixteen new full-time positions will be created from the $700,000 the
territorial government's Drug and Alcohol Secretariat has received.

The announcement from Health and Social Services Minister Sue Edelman came
early Wednesday afternoon in the main foyer of the government's main
administration building.

That's also where people were registering for the huge Prairie Northern
Pacific Conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effects. The event, involving
several hundred people, is taking place in Whitehorse but is closed to the
media so people can freely give personal testimonials, a department
official said.

The money will go towards expanding prevention and treatment services in
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

"The funding for this year will allow for implementation, beginning in the
fall, (of) a complete range of addictions (services)," Edelman said. "And
included in the expansion will be a total of 16 new positions in the areas
of prevention and training, medical support to detoxification, outpatient
and live-in treatment services, community outreach services in Dawson City,
Haines Junction and Watson Lake, a half-way house to provide a more stable
living situation for those who need it after completion of live-in
treatment; an FAS/FAE councillor and an FAS/FAE prevention consultant will
form part of the new services."

The funding came out of a contingency fund, Bernie Adilman, the cabinet's
spokesman, said this morning.

Coriliss Burke, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Secretariat,
said she's looking forward to working with non-governmental organizations
and other groups on programs.

"Addictions issues along with FAS and FAE, as you know, are issues that
cannot be addressed by one agency alone," Burke said. "And it takes a
community to address these serious problems that we have."

While 16 positions will open up, Burke said it will likely be next year
before everyone is hired.

"The new services will take some time to implement because we always have
recruitment challenges in the Yukon," she said. "And we're confident that
we'll be able to attract very well-qualified individuals for each of these
positions."

The positions will be phased in over the next year. They will include new
nursing positions in detoxification, in the outpatient treatment unit
there'll be an FAS counsellor and a duel diagnosis counsellor to deal with
clients who have mental health and addictions problems.

The live-in treatment program will have councillors and a supervisor, and
there will be outreach workers in Haines Junction, Watson Lake and Dawson City.

Of the programs, the half-way house program will be the last to be implemented.