Pubdate: Wed, 16 Mar 2005
Source: Lake Country Calendar (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Lake Country News
Contact:  http://www.lakecountrynews.net
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2229
Author: Steve Kidd
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF

Lake Country residents, especially those in the Glenmore area, have nothing 
to fear from a proposed addiction rehabilitation centre that plans to set 
up shop in the area.

At least, that's what representatives from Teen Challenge told community 
members last week at an information meeting they held after Mayor Rolly 
Hein asked them to address the issues and fears circulating in the community.

While the Christian-based group is proud of the fact that their clients, 
or, as they refer to them, students, are free to leave the program at any 
time, they assured the residents that when a student does leave, they are 
escorted to the bus station or airport for return to their starting point.

Those that stick with the program are subjected to isolation techniques 
until they earn the right to wider contact, according to Brian Pierson, one 
of the organization's directors.

"They give up their rights at the door," he says, "then they have to earn 
them back."

Even then, students are never allowed into the outside community without 
supervision.

The normally very smooth Mayor Rolly Hein was almost provoked to an 
outburst when members of the Teen Challenge panel insisted that they had 
been in contact with the community, including his office.

- --Steve Kidd photo All this talk did little to allay the concerns of local 
residents, who see the lack of security around the building as an 
invitation for trouble. Lake Country Mayor Rolly Hein, whose home is in the 
same area as the treatment centre also expressed his concerns over Teen 
Challenge's lack of openness or consultation with the community.

The Teen Challenge representatives, on the other hand, claim that they have 
consulted with the community. According to Pat Petrauskas, one Teen 
Challenge's local directors, the group has contacted and left information 
with the mayor's office and the chamber of commerce.

Her husband Arnie, also a local director, also says they consulted with the 
community, visiting local churches, and community clubs.

"Where else can we meet the community except in local churches?" he says.

Mayor Hein has a different view. "I have never had anyone at this table 
contact me directly," he says. "I went to your international office to ask 
for help because I couldn't get an answer anywhere in BC."

When the panel members insisted that they did in fact return all calls, and 
that if he had called he would have received a response the next day, a 
large segment of the audience protested, with shouts of "Are you calling 
the mayor a liar?" ringing through Creekside Theatre.

Teen Challenge chose this location because of what they see as a very 
serious drug problem, but when questioned as to whether there services 
might not be needed more in a remote area like Prince George, director 
Brian Pierson admitted that they need the large population base in the 
Okanagan Valley in order to financially support the centre.

Addicts pay a fee of $500 to enter the program, according to Pierson, but 
the actual cost of keeping them in the yearlong program is closer to 
$22,000. That money comes from donors, so a large, affluent population base 
is necessary to their success.

As well, Pierson says, part of the education process is linked with work in 
the community, where the recovering addicts can be exposed to a normal 
lifestyle, part of a process that the Teen Challenge web site says will 
take the student to a point where they can function as a Christian in society.

Even though the Teen Challenge organization has more than 560 locations 
around the world, Pierson admits that they are still learning how to 
approach communities.

"If we did it again, we'd go to the Mayor's office first," he says, 
admitting that their community approach through local churches might not be 
the most effective way to reach the whole community.

But Pierson also admitted that it would be very difficult to come into a 
community with a public process. One of the reasons the proposed site is 
ideal for Teen Challenge is that it already has appropriate zoning, 
according to Pierson, who adds that a public rezoning process might prove 
difficult if not impossible.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom