Pubdate: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Williams Lake Tribune Contact: http://www.wltribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226 Dealing with youth addictions Interior Health last week released its plan for Youth Addictions. This follows an internal assessment of Youth Addiction services, which identified areas that need support, based on population and current levels of service. As part of the $6 million allocated by the BC Government to be used for Youth Addictions Strategies province-wide, Interior Health received $900,000 and is matching that funding with an equal investment of dollars towards this strategy. "The youth addictions strategy announced today by Interior Health is a major step forward in meeting the needs of addicted youth," said George Abbott, Minister of Health in a press release. "While it may not solve all the problems, it will certainly add some alternate treatment options to help youth combat addictions". Said Dr. Don Duncan, Child and Adolescent psychiatrist and Medical Director, Mental Health and Addictions for the Okanagan Health Service Area; "This is a significant investment in helping youth that are struggling with addictions. We hope the broad-based approach outlined in the IH plan will make a difference in the lives of our addicted youth." The Youth Addictions plan focuses on five main areas: 1. Safe Housing: The creation of 16 new "safe beds" throughout IH where youth can go to safely break their addiction to stimulants and street drugs through specialized foster care homes. (There will be eight in the Okanagan, four in Thompson Cariboo Shuswap, two in East Kootenay and two in Kootenay Boundary.) 2. Outreach intensive counselling and treatment for addictions, a mobile treatment and support program, will travel to remote communities in each of the four health service areas. 3. More clinicians will be hired to provide assessment and treatment for mental health issues and addictions. Partnering with the Ministry of Children & Family Development, there will be six in total: three in the Okanagan and one each in Thompson Cariboo Shuswap, Kootenay Boundary and East Kootenay). 4. Urban outreach workers will be hired to reach out to urban youth on the street who are struggling with addiction to street drugs. These workers will contact, assess and move addicted urban street youth into appropriate treatment programs. The Okanagan will have four and the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap and East Kootenay will each have one for a total of six new outreach workers throughout IH. 5. Drug prevention education will be enhanced with five additional positions to align school-based programs with youth addiction plans to prevent drug abuse, enhance community/ professional education about drug abuse and educate on prevention methods. The new services are in addition to the current youth addiction services being provided across IH, including counseling, drug and alcohol treatment, residential addictions treatment (Phoenix Centre and Revisions Program in Williams Lake) 12 week mobile clinic for addictions treatment in Kootenay Boundary, street nurses, needle exchange and school based education programs Interior Health plans to move forward very quickly with the initiatives identified in its plan for Youth Addictions. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt Elrod