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Methadone
| Saskatchewan jails its young people
more than any other province | Jasmine
Arcand suicide | watch
a slide show of the opening of the brief detox centre
When the frozen bodies of
Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegner were discovered in 2000, Brian Dueck spoke on behalf of the
Saskatoon Police Service. Dressed in a white uniform, his appearance
on TV was our first indication that he had been promoted to Superintendent.
There he was, talking about the need for a brief detox centre
for cops to take people who were disturbing the public peace
because they were intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
Four years later an addition
has been built onto Larson House. The opening, as shown on TV,
displayed one large room with a dozen beds that fold out from
the wall. Some plumbing. I could have contracted and build this
thing for a tenth of what it allegedly cost. This is so far from
meeting the needs of a community ravaged by poverty: drugs and
alcohol, petty crime, more violent crime, and a general hopelessness
pervades Saskatoon west side communities.
Detox centre busy in
first two months
The StarPhoenix, February
23, 2005
Saskatoon's brief detoxification
centre took in 84 severely intoxicated people from the time it
opened its doors in late November to Jan. 8.
The 12-bed unit is connected
to Larson House, a long-term detox centre. The Saskatoon Health
Region hopes police and paramedics will continue to bring intoxicated
people to the centre, where they can stay for up to three days
and have access to addictions workers, medical personnel and
support staff.
"The fact that we have
been there to serve 84 people is a success in itself," Jean
Morrison, SHR interim CEO, said Tuesday. "That's 84 people
who weren't in an inappropriate setting when they were in a condition
where they couldn't care for themselves. They weren't on the
street, they weren't in the emergency department and they weren't
in a jail cell."
The health region never established
a set goal for how many people the treatment centre should serve,
just the services it would offer, said SHR spokesperson Leanne
Nyrifa.
After less than two months
of operation, it's still too early to tell how successful the
centre is, she said. The region is still working to inform police
and paramedics, emergency room staff and the public the detox
centre is a safe place to send non-violent people who are excessively
drunk or high.
Larson House now sends all
patients seeking detox treatment through the short-term centre
before admitting them for long-term detox, Morrison said in her
report to the health region's board.
Morrison also said some clients
receive counselling before they leave while others do not, and
the region is working to decide on a consistent routine for people
who use the facility.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Brief detox unit opens
doors
Richard Hall, The
StarPhoenix, November 29, 2004
Saskatoon's long-needed brief
detoxification unit will open its doors this week, giving police
and ambulance personnel a choice when picking up severely intoxicated
people, aside from police cells or hospital emergency rooms.
The 12-bed unit is connected
to Larson House, a longer-term social setting detox centre.
The two facilities will work
closely together, and in most cases, individuals brought to the
brief detox unit will be able to attend Larson House after recovering
if they wish.
Provincial Industry Minister
Eric Cline said the unit was important because alcohol abuse
affects everyone.
"I don't think there are
many of us that are not touched by alcohol abuse. I think all
of us, in our families, will have people that have addiction
problems . . . We need to have facilities to properly help people
in our communities. It simply was inappropriate that the only
places we had to take people in need of assistance were the police
cells and the hospitals," Cline said to the crowd of about
50 people at the unit's opening ceremonies Saturday.
Cline, who was present last
July at the sod-turning of the detox unit, said it was nice to
see the facility finally become a reality.
Shan Landry, the vice-president
of primary health for the Saskatoon Health Region agreed the
detox unit was badly needed.
"This week the doors of
this facility will open to provide a place for people to stay,
for a short period of time, to rest, and to recover from serious
intoxications or drug episodes. This unit is an alternative to
overnight incarceration or visits to emergency rooms."
The brief detox unit is made
to give people a place to stay for anywhere from a few hours
to three days. Police or ambulance personnel will bring the intoxicated
individuals to the detox unit as long as there is no danger they
could harm themselves or others. If there was, the old option
of the police cells would be used.
The 12 beds fold up into the
walls to maximize space. There are washrooms and showers for
men and women. The unit is staffed by addiction workers, trained
medical personnel and support staff. An aboriginal support worker
has been hired as well.
"This has been a much
needed facility within the city of Saskatoon . . . 12 beds aren't
very many, but it's a start, and it's a start in the right direction,"
deputy mayor Donna Birkmaier said.
Birkmaier then presented the
Saskatoon Regional Health Authority with a cheque for $50,000.
The money is half of the city's commitment of capital funding
for the project.
The majority of funding for
the $1-million addition to Larson House came from the federal
government.
The detox unit is designed
mostly for adults over the age of 18. There may be instances
where a minor would be allowed in, but representatives at the
unit said the city badly needs a formal youth detoxification
unit.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Street kids 'don't see
light at end of the tunnel'
Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix,
December 3, 2004
Many young lost souls walking
Saskatoon's streets have seen more tragedy than most adults,
and their lives -- often drowned in alcohol and drugs too often
go unnoticed, say those seeking solutions for these youths.
"For a lot of these kids,
it gets so out of control that they just can't see any light
at the end of that tunnel, anywhere, no matter how hard they're
digging. Many tend to just keep burying themselves in further
and at some point, the human spirit says, 'Screw it, I'm done,'
" said Bill Thibodeau, executive director of EGADZ youth
centre, which works with street kids.
Last weekend, 11-year-old Delores
Bird went to sleep after a binge of drinking and, according to
her uncle Ralph Bird, swallowing pills. She never woke up.
Ralph was asked to identify
the body the next day because Delores' mother had allegedly left
town. That's why Delores was roaming the streets and ended up
at the apartment of a man she'd only met a few times.
That suite is next door to
Ralph's in a building on Avenue T South. The neighbour was evicted
just after Delores' death and a scribbled note on the door states:
"This apartment is vacant. Don't bang on the door."
A phone call to the landlord was not immediately returned.
The building is in a rough
area, five blocks from a ramshackle house where a 44-year-old
man was killed in a drunken brawl the day after Delores died.
Saskatoon police Sgt. Dick
Melnychuk, who is in charge of the vice unit, says as a patrol
officer working the night shift, he often saw children walking
the streets all night.
"Nothing surprises me
anymore," Thibodeau said. "I've been past that stage
for a number of years."
Part of the problem is that
communities often look for the "big" fix -- "the
one thing that's creating all of this," he said. But it
isn't that easy, as many issues such as peer pressures, parental
involvement and societal barriers combine and become compounded
"into something unmanageable."
Part of the solution is making
sure there are solid role models somewhere in the child's life,
said Bonny Braden, communications co-ordinator for the Kids Not
in School (KNIS) program, which seeks to find ways to motivate
youth who have dropped out of school to return to classes.
"If the parents aren't
there, the teachers at school, even the secretary -- someone
who will pay attention -- could make a difference," Braden
said.
But many kids aren't in school.
Delores wasn't, according to Ralph.
Thibodeau has seen 13-year-olds
who haven't been in school for five or six years. KNIS estimates
at least 1,000 school-age children in the city do not attend
class.
"Kids as young as eight
are falling out of school or have never even been registered.
The schools don't even know about them -- it's like they don't
exist," said Braden.
KNIS has lobbied for a provincewide
tracking system for school-age kids, using health data instead
of school registries. If kids haven't registered, registries
offer little help, Braden noted.
Health data records information
on everyone born in the city.
"We would know in five
or six years that these kids should be in school. If not, we
can go looking for them," said Braden.
However, there are confidentiality
issues and the provincial privacy commissioner has expressed
concern about using that information.
Street youth surveyed by KNIS
indicated that better recreation opportunities would make a difference.
The results were released in October with provincial Justice
Minister Frank Quennell and June Draude, the Saskatchewan Party's
aboriginal issues critic, attending the press conference.
"They just want a place
to go, have fun, play sports," said Braden.
There are places for youth,
like EGADZ -- which offers teen parenting and school support
programs as well as outreach services -- the White Buffalo Youth
Lodge, Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op and SCYAP (Saskatoon Community
Youth Arts Program), "but they all close at some particular
hour, then those kids have to leave," said Melnychuk.
The Crisis Intervention Centre
is there for those already in need of rescue and there are child
protection officers to safeguard youth from grievous home situations.
But the same challenges facing KNIS's tracking system come into
play.
"Even if there are strong
suspicions . . . there's privacy issues. Where is that line where
you cross into the autonomy of a family to intervene?" said
Melnychuk. "I don't envy anyone having to make that call."
In October, Quennell suggested
a government strategy combining the resources of justice, health
and education could be in the offing. He also expressed "hope
that we'll be making more advances and providing more resources
within this term (of government)."
But there were no guarantees
offered Thursday.
Roger Carriere, executive director
of the community care branch of the Health Department, said regional
health authorities provide out-patient services to youth with
addictions problems. The Calder Centre, a residential treatment
centre in Saskatoon, has 12 beds dedicated to youth, he noted,
adding the White Buffalo lodge has a full-time alcohol and drug
counsellor.
Future improvements are always
under consideration, Carriere said.
"Certainly, we've been
in discussion on whether we're meeting the needs of the communities
and what improvements can be made. We renew our programs on a
regular basis."
Draude in October called on
the province to build an addictions treatment centre for youth.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
