A FIRST RESPONSE TO DRUG ADDICTION

On a foggy December day, a gaunt man walks out of Alouette Addiction
Services.

It's a weekly trek, to "help me stay clean" he says.

He is now in the system, accessing services that help him deal with
his addiction.

He admits it was a struggle to get there.

"I've been to detox three times since I started using," said the
40-year old on condition of anonymity.

"I used to use heroin and am on the methadone program
now."

It is easier once you are in the system, he says-once the wait is
over, the forms signed and your treatment begins.

Wait times for accessing addiction services vary from community to
community in British Columbia.

In New Westminster, Perspectives Addiction Services has a six-week
wait to see a drug and alcohol counsellor.

Waits for accessing the provincial methadone program can range from
three days to a week or longer, while in Maple Ridge access to a
residential treatment bed can vary from a day to a week.

On Monday, Alouette Addiction Services launches a new "service on
demand" called First Response.

The walk-in service will provide an immediate contacts for addicts,
explains executive director Ron Lawrence.

"We'll be able to help them have the support they need while they are
waiting for treatment," he said.

"Many of the people get lost because they have nothing to do while
they are waiting. The vision is to provide a service where people can
come on a daily basis, to have a hot chocolate or a cup of coffee and
talk to other people who need services and with professionals who can
guide them through the maze."

Alouette Addictions works in close partnership with the
provincially-run Maple Ridge Treatment Centre.

It is a collaboration that has resulted in shorter wait-times for
treatment and a quicker response to the drug problem in Maple Ridge
and Pitt Meadows.

First Response is another creative way to tackle the
issue.

"It is very exciting what's happening in this community," said
Lawrence, who took over as director in October and has been working on
First Response ever since.

"I came from the Downtown Eastside and I am very interested in
providing services that are needed."

Started over 20 years ago, Alouette Addiction Services - the sole
provider in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows-served 1100 individuals last
year.

They currently provide individual out-patient counselling and run
recovery and parent groups in the evenings and an education series for
the public.

The agency was bigger 15 years ago, with a staff of nine compared to
the current staff of seven.

"The demand on our system is so overwhelming that we have to met those
demands in different ways," Lawrence said.

"If we can do it with day treatment programs out of here, new
intiatives or partnerships that's exactly what we are looking at."

They have sent a proposal to the Fraser Health Authority to expand
their services to meet the growing need.

For now however, First Response is being funded by generous individual
donors.

"We are not going to sit and do nothing while we wait for funding,"
said Lawrence.

The agency has hired one another staff member from Vancouver to help
facilitate First Response.

"The only salary he has is based on the donations that have come in
from the community," Lawrence explains.

First Response is a drop-in group, that run from Monday to Friday,
from 10 a.m. to noon at Alouette Addiction Services, 22477 Lougheed
Highway, Maple Ridge.

For more information, call 604-467 5179.