Pubdate: Sun, 06 Aug 2006
Source: Surrey Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Surrey Leader
Contact:  http://www.surreyleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1236
Author: Kevin Diakiw
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

CITY DROPS BYLAW HAMMER ON UNLICENSED RECOVERY HOMES

Surrey alcohol and drug recovery homes will have to obtain proper 
zoning or shut down.

The long-dormant issue is arising again after complaints from the 
public regarding at least three North Surrey recovery homes near 101 
Avenue and 133 Street known collectively as Cornerstone Manor.

It's unknown how many recovery homes are operating in Surrey, but in 
1998, this city had 54 - one-third of the provincial total. City 
officials believe there are less than that now, but only one of them, 
Cloverdale's Path to Freedom, is licensed and zoned properly.

The city will no longer allow the unregulated facilities.

On June 22, a Surrey bylaw enforcement officer issued a compliance 
order on Cornerstone.

"A recent inspection of the above property has revealed that you are 
operating a recovery home," the notice states, adding the property 
isn't properly zoned.

"You are required to stop this illegal use by Aug. 15."

Richard Schmold, operator of the recovery home for the past 15 years, 
says clients are already leaving the home because of its uncertain future.

The stepped-up enforcement opens up a decade-old battle between the 
city and recovery homes.

In 1998, then-Coun. Dianne Watts struck a task force on recovery 
homes in an effort to both limit their number and location. She also 
wanted to improve the quality of service to clients.

The city created a bylaw in 1998 that governed where the homes can 
locate, but municipal authority stops at the front door - operations 
were a provincial responsibility.

With the help of the province, the city later introduced amendments 
to the recovery home bylaw requiring compliance with the Community 
Care Facilities Act. It meant providing 24-hour staffing, a nutrition 
care plan and a daily activity plan. It was an ambitious program that 
required provincial funding.

However, it proved too onerous and costly for recovery homes and the 
province, so in 2002, the B.C. Liberal government abandoned the program.

Nonetheless, it still remains a requirement of the city's bylaw.

Schmold, also chair of the B.C. Association of Drug and Alcohol 
Recovery Houses, says the city is opening up a huge can of worms.

If Surrey begins requiring rezoning of local recovery homes, 
operators will scatter, he says.

"They'll just go underground," Schmold says. "It's going to be moving 
from here and coming to your neighbourhood soon."

The clients, he said, will suffer.

Ken, a 46-year-old resident of Cornerstone, fears he'll go out and 
use drugs if he loses the assistance.

"Without the help of Cornerstone and the people that work here, I 
can't do it," says Ken, who paid for his crack cocaine habit mostly 
through break-ins and property theft.

"What it means for me is I'm homeless without a safe place... I don't 
know where I'm going to go."

Mayor Watts is aware of the bylaw order.

"Let me put it this way, this has been an ongoing issue for a number 
of years," Watts said Thursday. "There are some good recovery houses 
out there and there are others that need support."

The city, she says, needs to ensure the homes are providing adequate care.

Part of the crackdown will involve lobbying the provincial government 
for regulations on how the facilities operate.

"Again we go back to the drawing board where we have to deal with the 
issue," Watts said. "The issue of addictions is something we need to 
deal with on a multi-governmental level, we cannot keep passing the buck."

The city is currently compiling a database of addictions services 
throughout the city, Watts said. Once that's finished, the city can 
go forward to the provincial government with a specific list of needs.

Meanwhile, bylaw officials will continue issuing notices when they 
receive complaints from the public.

"We respond on a per-complaint basis, and that's exactly what we're 
doing here," Watts said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman