The Northern Supportive Recovery Centre for Women is not the only organization seeking to develop a women's long-term addiction treatment centre in the North.
The Hutda Lake Wellness Centre Society is proposing a 40-bed addictions treatment centre at a former correctional institute 30 kilometres from Prince George on Shesta Lake Road.
Hutda Lake chairperson Marianne Sorensen could not be reached for comment as of press time. However, in a previous interview with the Citizen, Sorensen said there a need for multiple treatment centres with differing approaches to addiction recovery.
"One size does not fit all," Sorensen said. "We can identify a whole range of needs."
The society held an open house on May 20 to get feedback from the community on the proposal.
"What we'd like to have is a long-term, up to three years or so, for women to recover from addictions and trauma in their lives. Our program is envisioned to focus a lot more on trauma," Sorensen said. "In terms of consultation, we want to ensure that the community really decides what is needed. We believe that our vision for women is a good one, but we want to make sure."
Currently the Hutda Lake facility is owned by the government. It is vacant, but is being maintained.
"It's definitely one of the possible sites. It's got cabins at this point, some main buildings and a gym," she said. "It's a very beautiful spot, there is lots of space for the women to do things."
Alternatives needed
Elizabeth Fry Society women and children's services manager Amanda Alexander said both programs are needed.
"Really what folks need is not a treatment centre, but treatment options," Alexander said. "Some methodologies will really work for some people, but not for others."
While the Northern Supportive Recovery Centre for Women is based on abstinence, the Hutda Lake Wellness Centre would be a harm-reduction model.
"We have enough demand to keep both facilities full," Alexander said. "There is no residential [treatment] access to supports in the North. That can be a real barrier for women."
The Elizabeth Fry Society operates 80 family housing units for women and an additional 11 units of second-stage housing with additional supports, she said.
"The women themselves self-identified well over 50 per cent saying that substance abuse is something they've struggled with," Alexander said. "If that many have self-indentified, the real number is more than that."
Some short-term residential supports are available in Prince George though the Phoenix Transition Society and Northern Health offers detox services, she said, but it can take months to get into a long-term treatment facility.
"That personal place of readiness... it's really important for folks to seize that moment," she said. "All the arrangements that need to be made in terms of caring for their children, having a place to store their things... you can have those in place, but have no place to go in treatment. That's how people fall through the cracks."
Some of the residential addiction centres accessible to women from Prince George include Cedars Treatment Centre for Addictions and Edgewood on Vancouver Island, and Bellwood Health Services in Toronto.
In Prince George Alcoholics Anonymous, Northern Health and We Care Home Health Services offer outpatient addiction counseling. Private addiction counseling services are also offered in Valemount, McBride and Vanderhoof.
Information about the addiction treatment services offered by Northern Health is available at www.northernhealth.ca/YourHealth/MentalHealthAddictions.aspx.
