Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2012
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 The Abbotsford Times
Contact:  http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009
Author: Rochelle Baker

THE FAMILY OF FIRTH

Gaps in Addiction Recovery Put Abbotsford Moms and Kids at Risk

Mothers and children in Abbotsford trying to break free from the 
cycle of addiction and poverty face the danger of finding themselves 
living on the streets due to gaps in the system, say advocates.

Executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, 
Shawn Bayes, said Abbotsford mothers and their children are at 
increased risk of homelessness due to the lack of provincial funding 
for treatment programs and recovery housing for women with kids 
within the community.

Additionally, there is also no emergency shelter in Abbotsford that 
can house women with children, said Bayes.

Fry's Firth Residence in Abbotsford provides transitional housing and 
support services to women in recovery.

However, if a woman arriving at Firth Residence from a treatment 
program has children, the society doesn't get any additional funding 
to meet their needs.

What's more, the vast majority of treatment programs in B.C. - with 
the exception of Abbotsford's Peardonville House that accepts 
preschoolers - do not accept women's children, said Bayes.

"We're setting women up to fail," she added.

"If they have children, they can't go to treatment because they can 
be in there for months.

"But if they have a drug addiction they could lose their kids."

Of the 55 clients that Firth has served since January, 10 women have 
had children who visit and seven had kids actually live with them in 
the transitional residence.

If women want to go into treatment or recovery programs, they often 
have to face the choice of farming out their kids to relatives or 
putting them into government care - both of which are bad choices for 
a mother to have to make, said Bayes.

Cathleen, 42, who recently got out of the Peardonville treatment 
program, is living in a one-bedroom room at Firth with her 
four-year-old daughter Jenny while riding out the wait for more 
permanent, supported and safe housing.

Workers at the transitional home figure she'll likely face a 
four-month wait, which is well below the average.

In the meantime, neither Cathleen nor Firth gets any provincial 
funding for the child.

Cathleen must stretch the $95 she gets for herself and federal 
government child support funding to meet all her and Jenny's needs 
beyond food and shelter.

But despite the financial struggle and insecurity, Cathleen decided 
to seek treatment.

"My recovery is more important than the money," she said.

"The dope came before my kid. I don't think I can ever forgive 
myself, but I can stop it from happening again."

However, the lack of stability and appropriate housing are affecting 
Jenny, said Cathleen, who now just wants to get her footing to find a 
new home and school for her child.

"She doesn't know if she's coming or going. I just want to get 
somewhere safe where I can give Jenny some stability," she said.

Current government policy puts mothers trying to make changes in 
their lives, and the organizations struggling to help them, in a 
difficult position, said Bayes.

"Even if a charity will absorb the cost . . . the women face the 
draconian choice of loving their child but denying them the basic 
necessities if they keep them," she said.

"It's an awful choice."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom