The Provincial government is moving forward with an extensive funding plan towards building up treatment and recovery services across the province.
Yesterday's announcement from Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions took note of the 132 million dollar investment over the next three years and how it will be applied.
“When a person living with addiction is ready to take a step toward recovery, we must ensure services are available when and where they need them. We have been busy patching holes where urgently needed over the past four years. Now, through Budget 2021’s historic investment, we are beginning to make true systemic change. B.C.’s $132-million investment in treatment and recovery will result in significant improvements everywhere in the province, making substance-use care more seamless, better integrated and easier to access.” -- Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.
The province did not put forward a comprehensive list of where the funding will be directed, but a few communities did get a mention, including a new sobering and assessment centre planned for Prince George.
Other areas of note for the funding for the North included:
Expanded adult addictions day treatment services in various communities in the Northern Health region
New Peer support initiatives to support ongoing aftercare in locations throughout the Northern Health Region
The full statement and destination for some of the funding can be explored here.
There is however no specific mention of the Prince Rupert area from the announcement of yesterday and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice hasn't provided any notes on her Facebook feed to date to suggest a large investment is coming to this region.
So from that, it's hard to know just how much, if any, of that 132 million will make its way to the far Northwest corner of the province, or whether the ongoing health needs for Prince Rupert and area register on the provincial radar.
For those living in the community and surrounding region, there is clearly a significant need for many additional services in the region, areas of concern that have yet to be met by the provincial government's ongoing outreach planning.
One interesting idea which was first proposed over five years ago or so, was that of developing a health and substance use centre for youth in the community.
A much needed initiative for the region which was percolating among a number of groups in 2016, with Mayor Lee Brain noting at the time of how such a centre proposed for the Old Daily News building would be a huge win for the community.
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| Some notes from 2016 on the potential use of the Old Daily News building for a potential youth collaborative centre |
Whether that funding fell through, or the project proved not to be feasible, the proposal for the 'one stop shop' appears to have never moved much beyond the 'here's the concept' stage it seems.
With the Province seemingly ready once again to move forward and fund such initiatives, it may be time to dust off some plans, or create some new ones; with the City Council and local residents reaching out to the MLA to see if Prince Rupert is going to share in the provincial funding bounty in a significant way.
The topic could also be one for Council to raise at their upcoming session with representatives of Northern Health when they gather together at the end of this month.
As we noted last week, Councillor Barry Cunningham is asking residents of Prince Rupert to forward questions to the members of Council for them to relay to Northern Health prior to their in Council presentation session set for October 25th.
More notes on what services are available in the region can be explored through our Northern Health archive pages.
Topics of note from the Legislature can be reviewed here.
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