Pubdate: Fri, 30 Nov 2012
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Lindsay Kines

LACK OF DRUG HELP WRENCHES B.C. FAMILIES, ADVOCATES SAY

Province Urged to Treat Addicted Parents Without Separating Them From 
Their Kids

A shortage of treatment facilities where drug-addicted parents can 
stay with their children is having a devastating impact on at-risk 
youth in B.C., advocates say.

Most facilities do not allow children to stay with parents who are 
getting help for a substance abuse problem.

"There's the assumption that you'd be a crummy mummy, obviously, so 
we separate mother and child," said Shawn Bayes, executive director 
of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver.

The result, however, is that some mothers and fathers can get 
treatment only if they put their children in government care, while 
others delay treatment for fear of losing their kids, she said.

In both cases, children can experience trauma - either from being 
yanked away from a parent or from remaining in a situation where they 
are exposed to substance abuse, advocates say.

"It's tragic when somebody has to choose between being a parent and 
keeping their family together, or getting the help that she or he 
needs," said Michelle Fortin, who chairs the B.C. Association of 
Addiction Specialists and Allied Professionals.

Fortin, Bayes and other frontline workers in community-service 
agencies say the government needs to do more to treat parental 
substance abuse without tearing families apart. They note that once 
children are in government care, their chances of a better life often diminish.

Abbotsford's Peardonville House Treatment Centre, funded by the 
Fraser Health Authority, is one of the few facilities that accept 
mothers and pre-school aged children. If the women are on social 
assistance, the Ministry of Social Development covers their 
$40-per-day fee as well as the $40 fee for each child.

Executive director Milt Walker said women come from all over the 
province for the program, which has eight spaces for kids and usually 
has a two-to three month waiting list.

Community-service agencies say the government needs more programs 
like Peardonville to meet the demand and provide spots for parents 
with older children.

Fortin also argued that the services should be provided free. "I 
mean, this is a health issue," Fortin said. "You wouldn't ask a 
cancer patient to have to make a choice between paying for their rent 
or paying for cancer treatment. It would just be provided."

The working poor, who scrape by without social assistance, are unable 
to afford Peardonville and have no desire to draw the government's 
attention and put their kids at risk by asking for financial help, she said.

Victoria addictions counsellor Sue Donaldson said the situation is 
even more dire on Vancouver Island, where outpatient treatment is 
available, but there are no residential options for mothers with 
children. "There's a big gap there," she said.

Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said in an interview that the 
government has boosted spending on mental health and addictions by 53 
per cent to $1.3 billion since 2000-2001. But even with that 
increase, it remains a challenging issue, she acknowledged.

"I know that there are needs that we're currently not meeting in this 
area," she said. "At the same time, there's definitely not a 
one-size-fits-all [solution]."

She said there are times when it makes sense to keep women and their 
children together in a treatment program. In other cases, the women 
are dealing with so much pain and trauma that it's better for 
children to stay elsewhere. There can also be safety issues, she said.

MacDiarmid, a doctor, said she is well aware of the social stigma 
that can deter women from seeking treatment. "It was my belief, and 
it still is, that you're far more vulnerable if you don't deal with 
the addiction or the mental-health problem or both," she said. "It 
often worked out well. We often found ways to get help, and the 
long-term relationship between the mother and child was maintained."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom