LOCAL FUNDS URGED TO HELP ADDICTS

Adding 24 new addictions treatment beds to Calgary and Edmonton won't
do enough to help Central Alberta drug addicts, said the parent of an
addicted teen.

Jackie Czerniak doesn't want to knock the latest government effort,
saying she's pleased anytime more is done to help youths kick
addictions in the province.

But opening a total of 24 new beds in the larger centres isn't going
to bring down Alberta's waiting lists significantly, said Czerniak,
who founded the Red Deer chapter of the support group Parents
Empowering Parents.

"The essence of recovery is providing assistance when somebody is
asking for it," Czerniak added.

But the Red Deer woman was once told that Aventa Addictions Treatment
for Women in Calgary had a two-month wait list.

Czerniak compared this to sending a patient with a broken limb away
from an emergency room for eight weeks.

"What are these people supposed to do in the meantime?"

Her daughter is now in a drug treatment program on Vancouver
Island.

Czerniak explained that the British Columbia program had a shorter
wait for admission and a longer period of rehabilitation - a possible
six-month stay compared with Alberta centres that usually offer 19
days of residential treatment.

Ideally, she would like to see a longer-term drug rehabilitation
centre open in Red Deer.

But Czerniak noted that it's been an uphill battle just getting a
detoxification centre, which would offer short-term support while
addicts go through withdrawal.

A local detox centre proposal, which is tied to a mat program, has
been opposed in various city locations.

"More should be done locally," Czerniak stressed. "It's difficult for
parents to drop everything to accompany their children for out-of-town
treatment. . . . And the need here is so great."

On Tuesday, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission announced a
$4.2-million initiative that will fund two four-bed detoxification
programs and two eight-bed residential treatment programs in Calgary
and Edmonton.

The programs will help 12 to 17 year olds recover from alcohol and
street drugs, such as crystal meth, at no charge to the youth.

"These programs will be of tremendous value in leading the way to a
healthier life," said Dave Rodney.

Rodney is the Calgary-Lougheed MLA and AADAC chair.

No estimate was provided on how many days these new beds were expected
to reduce waits for treatment.