Detox and treatment beds to be available to Indigenous youth

Indigenous youth in central Vancouver Island will be able to access a full-range of detox and treatment services at a youth facility in Lantzville this fall, Premier David Eby announced on Tuesday.

Eby made the announcement in the community just north of Nanaimo, noting that the toxic drug crisis — declared a public heath emergency in 2016 — continues to disproportionately affect Indigenous people.

“Rooting treatment in addictions and mental heath issues in Indigenous knowledge has the power to transform a young person’s life,” said Eby.

Twenty substance-use treatment beds will be available to Indigenous youth age 12 to 18 in renovated space at the Orca Lelum Youth Wellness Centre, managed by the Orca Lelum Wellness Society, an Indigenous child and family service agency.

Services will be available starting in June and will be phased in as more staff are hired and trained, according to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. It said the centre is expected to operate at full capacity by fall.

The plan is to employ at least 50 staff members, including medical staff, clinical counsellors, cultural workers, intake workers and wellness support staff, the ministry said.

Half the 20 beds will be reserved for short-term detox and stabilization, with the remaining beds allocated for a “10-week holistic, live-in and culture-based healing program,” it said.

There will be continuous intake — including drop-ins — for detox beds, while the treatment beds and services will operate up to four times a year, the ministry said. During the month-long break between each of the four 10-week treatment sessions, specialized trauma and grief services will be provided.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said offering supports informed by Indigenous knowledge is important, “so they can feel safe and connected to their culture while they focus on their healing in the short and long term.”

The province is providing $7 million for initial funding for the centre through a $171-million 2023 budget commitment to Indigenous-led treatment, recovery and after-care services.

Island Health is contributing $1 million towards the centre.