27 March-- The BC provincial government will be building Withdrawal Management Site in partnership with Northern First Nations Alliance (NFNA), First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Northern Health in accordance to the Red Road Recovery model.
The withdrawal management site will essentially be a detox center plus after care center. A complete care unit for folks dealing with addiction.
Joise Osborne, BC minister of health, made a public announcement this morning. “It will be a welcoming and supportive place where people can begin their healing journey with care that respects their dignity, their identity and their culture.”
Residents of Terrace and across northwestern BC will be getting access to culturally safe, community-based withdrawal-management services.
With the addition of the withdrawal management site, the organizations will be providing 12 land-based treatment beds at Red Road North to serve community members and 10 supportive-recovery beds at the Braun building in Terrace. It will open later this spring.
The after-care services will include the following.
- Northern First Nations Alliance led outreach services
- Indigenous community led treatment and recovery beds
- Outpatient withdrawal-management team
- Transportation supports
- Northern-Health led new withdrawal-management facility
The organizations are set to create a substance-use system of care for assisting everyone, wherever they are in their journey.
Josie added “These are services that reflect indigenous leadership, knowledge and community driven solutions. They’re tangible steps towards a system that really honors culture, supports healing, and meets people where they are and its work as part of broader efforts that we’re making to expand mental health and substance use supports across B.C., continuing to invest in indigenous led healing services, expanding treatment and recovery beds, improving access to outpatient supports, and adding new With strong management teams across the province.
The old UNBC campus and now soon to be, withdrawal management site, is located at 4837 Keith Ave. in Terrace has 1,288 square metres of space.
The announcement was also led by the Mayor of Terrace, Sean Bujtas. He shared, “We’ve worked really hard to to lobby this. The Northern First Nation alliance has worked really hard to to lobby for more supports. Terrace is the second highest overdose right next to the downtown Eastside. We know those numbers are going down because some of the the work that’s being done. But but it’s not enough. And it wasn’t fast enough. But now we’re seeing, a project really going to move forward.”
Colleen Nyce, the chair of the board of the Northern Health Authority said, “It’s an investment in people, our friends, our neighbors, our families, those who deserve care, dignity and a safe path toward recovery. As many of you know, British Columbia has been in a public health emergency related to toxic drug poisoning since 2016, and thousands of lives have been lost and many of them right here in the northwest”.
The renovation of the the old UNBC campus will start once Northern Health evaluates the location and will communicate how long it will take for them complete the work.