Creatures of Habit

Resources lacking -Jul 06 2007

On June 17, you published a letter regarding local homeless drug users in which A.N. Brown wrote: "Those that really need the help should be in some monitored group home where they can receive the medical help they need and are safe from the dregs that prey on them." Bravo. I wish to agree wholeheartedly. That is exactly where many of these people should be, in treatment centers.

The unfortunate truth is that B.C. has desperately insufficient resources for dealing with this problem. For starters no one gets to treatment without going to detox first. Detox takes a matter of days whereas comprehensive treatment takes weeks just to make a good start. 
There are 1,038 drug and alcohol rehab beds in all of B.C. of which about 600 are detox beds and 400 are treatment beds. 

Assuming an average of two weeks of detox and six weeks of treatment, our system is capable of detoxing four times more people than it's capable of treating. 
That means out of four people who make a decision to get help and get straight, only one will find a treatment bed available after detox. The other three will walk out of detox with no support to stay straight and no tools to support their own sobriety. They typically end up right back where they started. The net result is often a complete waste of resources.

In 2003 the Vancouver Coastal Health authority estimated that there were 20-25,000 injection drug users residing in B.C. I want to be very clear that this figure does not include countless others who use highly addictive drugs without using needles. I've had a hard time finding a more comprehensive figure but we know the situation has not improved since 2003. It's getting worse, so these figures will serve to illustrate my point.

The 400 available treatment beds can start the rehabilitation process for about 4000 users annually. It would take more than five years just to treat B.C.'s injection drug users alone. Who knows how long to deal with the remaining addicts who smoke, eat, snort and drink their substance of choice. 

I understand that many people feel resentment that our tax dollars should have to be applied to cleaning up the mess of addiction. The truth is that, regardless of who made the mess, we are all living with it. Many more of us than some are willing to admit are vulnerable to addiction. No one wants to be addicted to meth or heroin. No one believed it would take them down when they started. Those were errors in judgement made long ago, decisions that were supported by the predators who make their living peddling poison. There are 600 known organized crime groups operating in Canada, with 128 in B.C. alone.

We need more treatment beds and more qualified treatment professionals. We need to be effectively prosecuting the sellers and stop persecuting the users.
Every dollar spent on the incarceration of drug users is a waste of resources that could be redirected to treatment. There is no rehabilitation in our prison system, just a higher price to pay for staying high. 

So to A.N. Brown, and other like-minded individuals, it's all well and good to suggest that those who are down and out ought to get help. We just have to be willing to dole out our tax money to ensure sufficient, appropriate help is available. 
Sam Zaharia

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I could have wept after reading this... I especially loved the line hi-lighted in red.

I shared this letter to the editor with you to give you a better idea of what we're up against.

It's extremely difficult when you get somebody at their lowest point -who is sincere and ready to make that change to sobriety, to get 'clean' from the drugs, life on the streets -only to make the calls and get the same disappointing answer time after time... 'sorry, we don't have any beds available, but do keep calling us back.'

It is not uncommon for the wait time to be months in some treatment centres, which to a homeless person can seem like an eternity. With the streets awash in drugs and temptation, the chances of recapturing this desire for change is nearly impossible.

That's why today, was one of the best days we've had in a long time! One of our guys Wayne Ladoceur (*not his real name) was accepted today into Teen Challenge! (http://bcteenchallenge.com/ok/frameset.html)

To say we're proud of Wayne, is an understatement. And the fact this is a Christian based treatment centre, with an 86% success rate and a one year residential program -we are beyond ecstatic!!!!!!!!!!! And to know Wayne, his potential for coming out of this program and taking the gospel to the world -there really is no limits. He went in knowing the love of Christ at work in his life and we can only imagine, what he'll do when he gets out.

On the drive out (I was the fortunate one to get to drive Wayne out to Winfield) we got to see this beautiful sight...

He wondered how anyone could take in the beauty of the Okanagan and deny the existence of God. (I shared the sentiment) Amongst other things, we talked about God's plan for his life, the spiritual gifting that he's been blessed with and the fears that came with making this choice.

As I gave him a manly hug goodbye, I felt something I haven't felt in a long time.

Giddy.

Wayne, you're in our prayers, we know that God is going to work a wonder in you. We can't wait to hear of your progress and see you again someday soon!