Pubdate: Tue, 31 Jul 2007
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Mary Agnes Welch
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

70 TEEN ADDICTS FORCED INTO DETOX

MORE than 70 teenage drug addicts have been forced into detox in the 
nine months since the province passed new legislation that gives 
parents the power to have their kids arrested.

But Marymound, the non-profit counselling service that runs the 
temporary detox unit, is still on the hunt for a permanent home after 
plans to open a small unit on Scotia Street were derailed by 
community opposition.

"We're still looking, but we're fairly confident we'll find 
something," said Ian Hughes, executive director of Marymound.

The 10-bed detox or stabilization unit was set up last November when 
new provincial legislation called the Youth Drug Stabilization Act 
kicked in. It was part of new crime-fighting legislation passed last 
year, and it allows desperate parents to apply for a court order 
forcing their teen into a seven-day drug stabilization unit.

There, it's hoped the youth will sober up enough to listen to 
counsellors and consider voluntarily entering a long-term treatment 
program run by one of a number of local agencies. If not, the youth 
is released after a week.

Since Nov. 1, the courts have ordered police to pick up and confine 
91 youths at the detox unit, and 72 teens have gone through the 
assessment and appeal process and finished the week-long detox.

In the first five months, Hughes said about 80 per cent of kids went 
from detox into a long-term drug treatment program. That number has 
declined slightly since April.

The detox unit has a temporary home at the MacDonald Youth Services 
building on Mayfair Avenue. That space is too small and poorly laid 
out, and MacDonald Youth Services is hoping to use the space itself 
at some point, said Hughes.

Last fall, Marymound tried to build an new detox unit on Scotia 
Street, but that bid failed after neighbours said they feared the 
influx of meth and crack addicts.

Hughes said he's eyeing several new locations and hopes that 
Marymound will be able to make a more convincing case to neighbours 
who fear the detox unit will be noisy, dangerous and a magnet for 
drug dealers. He said the first nine months on Mayfair Avenue have 
proved those fears unfounded.

John Borody, CEO of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, said he's 
been pleased with the fairly large number of kids whose parents have 
made use of the new legislation and sought detention orders. And he 
said a substantial number have chosen to seek long-term treatment -- 
another bit of good news.

"From our perspective, it seems to be working fairly well," said Borody.

There's traditionally been months-long wait lists for residential 
treatment beds -- a pitfall critics of the provincial government 
warned about early on.

But Borody said most youth who come through the stabilization unit 
don't want live-in treatment. Instead, they opt for community-based 
care where they live at home but come in for counselling and group 
therapy one or more times a week.

Borody said his agency and others have been successful at 
shoe-horning teens into counselling sessions with little or no delay.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom