Pubdate: Thu, 29 Sep 2005
Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531
Author: Chuck Poulsen, The Daily Courier
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

PARADIGM SHIFT IN ADDICTION TREATMENT

A youth addiction funding announcement by Interior Health Wednesday 
signifies a fundamental shift in the way the experts will treat kids 
hooked on meth or cocaine

The new policy will provide for four "safe beds" for young addicts 
trying to go straight, but more important will be three more outreach 
workers on the street, for a total of four

Dr. Don Duncan, Interior Health's mental health director for the 
Okanagan, said the street treatment is "miles ahead" of the more 
traditional models of treatment centres

Duncan was responding to the closure of the five-bed Iridian youth 
detox centre and the announcement of the four safe beds to be placed 
in specialized foster homes - still leaving a net loss of one bed.

"We may be one bed short, but if you are counting therapy spots (on 
the street), we're miles ahead," said Duncan.

Duncan said it's a common misunderstanding that people, especially 
youth, need medical attention as they kick meth or cocaine, although 
they may when withdrawing from heroin or alcohol.

For young people, cessation of meth or cocaine will bring on a 
crashing depression, but it doesn't require medical supervision nor 
additional drug therapy.

"Very few need detox as it's commonly understood," said Duncan, "but 
they do need a supportive environment as they shift the gears from 
habitual use."

Duncan said the increase in outreach workers is essential to young addicts.

"The outreach workers need to meet the young people where they are 
at, geographically and mentally," said Duncan. "We can't have an 
ivory tower approach where we wait for them to come for help. We need 
to reach out to them.

"Housing and therapy do not necessarily need to be tied together. 
Treatment needs to start on the street. When they are ready to begin 
the trek, then the supportive housing can be provided."

Stays in the safe beds would be one to 10 days.

Iridian's Dennis Dandeneau said he will meet with IH to see if 
Iridian can bid on managing the four new beds.

"They are in different specialized foster care homes, so that is a 
different model from Iridian," said Dandeneau. "We'll have to look at 
the model IH has presented. We'll know better when we have more 
details in hand."

The five Iridian beds were in one location. Four were short-term 
detox stays while a fifth, a separate transition suite, was for those 
who needed more time to access other services.

Since it opened in 2003, Iridian treated 155 young people who wanted 
to kick their addiction from crack, meth or other stimulants. It had 
an annual operating budget of $386,000 before the federal government 
withdrew funding June 30.

Dandeneau applauded the IH funding.

"I'm really pleased to see that kind of attention given to youth 
addiction, which has been severely underfunded in the past," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman