Pubdate: Mon, 24 Oct 2016
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2016 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Katie May
Page: A3

NEW GAP SEEN FOR YOUTHS BATTLING ADDICTIONS

Two treatment programs closed

THE closure of two youth-treatment programs has raised concerns about
access to addictions treatment for young people involved in Manitoba's
criminal justice system.

The youth addiction and mental health treatment programs run by the
Behavioural Health Foundation closed permanently this spring because
of a lack of funding. The shuttering of the two programs - one in
Selkirk for boys and the other in St. Norbert for girls - was already
in the works when a Red River College student was brutally attacked by
two boys at the Selkirk facility during the final shift of her child
and youth care practicum last May.

There are no plans for either of the treatment facilities to reopen,
sparking fears the province could see a gap in treatment options
available for young people, particularly those who are seeking to be
released from jail into a residential treatment program as part of
court-ordered bail or probation conditions. Of the 106 youth admitted
to the Behavioural Health Foundation's addiction treatment programs in
2015-16, about 60 per cent of boys and 49 per cent of girls were
involved in the criminal justice system, foundation statistics show.
About 85 per cent of young clients were indigenous.

Criminal defence lawyer Wendy Martin White said there are already
"very limited options" for youth who need residential treatment for
addictions in Manitoba. She said she wouldn't be surprised to see more
youth in custody who may otherwise have been let out to receive
court-mandated treatment.

"Having those facilities gone… means more kids end up in custody on
remand because we don't have viable options to get them treatment.
More kids end up having difficulties in the community (once they've
been released on court conditions) where they should be getting
treatment but aren't able to because there are no available options
for them in the community any longer, and that means that they could,
and likely will, end up back in custody if they don't deal with their
addictions issues," she said.

In an emailed statement, a Manitoba Justice spokeswoman said youth are
not held in custody beyond the length of time set by the court.

The foundation is still operating adult and family programs, as well
as a treatment program for adult women, which all have waiting lists.
There was no waiting list for its youth programs, which ran deficits
of about $400,000 to $500,000 per year and needed more provincial
funding to stay afloat, said foundation executive director Jean Doucha.

"It's a hard pill to swallow. We did good work for nearly 40 years
with youth, and you know, at a certain point the board had to say
'enough is enough, we can't continue to carry the deficits,' and sadly
they had to make the decision to close," she said.

Doucha said she doesn't know how youth with addictions who have run
afoul of the law are being served since the programs' closure.

"It's a big concern for me, because they're just spinning their
wheels, just sitting in custody. They're not getting anywhere with
their lives, they're not learning new things. They probably don't get
all of the services that they require based on their needs. And sadly,
I think we need to look at the fact of how many kids are sitting in
custody simply because there isn't a better alternative for them."

Other youth residential addiction treatment centres in the province
are the Whiskeyjack Treatment Centre outside of Norway House, which
accepts court-mandated clients, and Compass Residential Youth Program
outside of Portage la Prairie, which doesn't.

The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba also has addictions counsellors
for youth based in Winnipeg and in high schools around the province,
as well as non-residential addiction treatment for kids with fetal
alcohol syndrome, known as the Starfish project. Addictions
counsellors also work with youth who are in custody and on probation.

Sherrie Palmer, program supervisor for Compass, said there is "an
ongoing need" for youth addiction treatment services, and AFM has been
working to meet the demand. Young people being released from custody
can still get treatment for addictions from AFM - as long as they do
it voluntarily, she said.

"We see lots of kids with legal involvement. They may also be eligible
for residential services with us. A real focus would be on ensuring
that they are seeking treatment voluntarily, that they're not seeking
it because there's been some form of a court order saying 'you must
attend,'" Palmer said.

The difficulty, said Martin White, is if youth "don't have that option
to go directly from custody, then unfortunately courts will say,
sometimes, your addiction is too great or the risk is too great if you
have to go into the community and wait to get into a program, so
you'll stay in custody."

The need for more addictions-treatment services goes far beyond youth
in custody, said Quinn Saretsky, acting co-executive director of the
Elizabeth Fry Society of Manitoba, which deals primarily with adult
women.

"There just aren't enough beds across the board, so it's a really hard
thing because it's not something that's easy to fund," she said,
reacting to the Behavioural Health Foundation youth program closures.
"It's really unfortunate when (it's difficult to) access funding, when
it's not deemed that it's a necessary service. In Manitoba, this has
been an ongoing issue."

Manitoba Justice works with AFM and the Native Alcohol Drug Abuse
Program in rural areas to help combat young people's addictions, the
department said in a statement.

"The province's community and youth corrections staff work with youth
to address their addictions issues. All correctional programs are
grounded in relapse prevention and cognitive behavioural therapy
(which) is a common approach used to modify behaviour as part of
rehabilitation and treatment."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt