SOBER MAN PRAISES ABSTINENCE PROGRAM

Thirteen years ago, when he was 24, David J. was not only addicted to
alcohol and drugs, he was lonely, desperate and suicidal.

For years, his life had revolved around partying. He grew up in an
upper-middle-class family in North Vancouver, but his mother, an alcoholic,
moved out when he was 11. His father travelled often, so he and his brother
were shipped off to boarding school in Victoria. There, David spent most
weekends and school trips drinking. When he was 15, his mother died from
the effects of alcoholism. He graduated from high school and went to
college, but the partying didn't slow down, even though he realized his
friends were getting on with their lives.

"I had this illusion in my mind everything was OK," he said. "But I knew in
my heart I was being left behind and it was due to drugs and alcohol."

He tried a treatment program, but felt that the operators were just trying
to get money out of him-the program cost thousands of dollars. He had
almost given up when he was referred by a close friend to Turning Point, a
recovery program that celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday night.

For seven months, he was immersed in the centre's strict structure. Every
day, he would get up early and have breakfast, do chores, take part in
group counselling and attend Alcoholics Anonymous-style meetings. David was
impressed by the staff, many of whom were former addicts. The program is
based on AA's theory of one alcoholic helping another.

David credits the centre's strict schedule and high expectations with
helping him achieve sobriety, along with its abstinence-based approach. He
says the live-in program, which demands participants be clean for a minimum
of 48 hours before being accepted, isolated him from the influence of the
friends and places he used to frequent, and exposed him to "healthier"
people. "I couldn't imagine being there with people who were not clean and
sober. It would have been too distracting-you're on a different page, you
would be with people who were still in the throes of addiction."

Today, David owns his own office furniture business, is married and is
about to become a father. Grateful for his recovery, he continues to
volunteer with Turning Point.

The society grew out of an arrangement between a handful of recovering
addicts in 1982. The group rented apartments in a large house and formed a
casual support group that was self-managed until 1984, when a society was
formed so they could gain credibility and be eligible for funding. Today,
the society runs two Vancouver recovery homes that sit side by side near
Cambie and West 13th and provide 22 beds. A Richmond centre, which opened
in 1994, houses another nine beds.

The three non-profit sites operate on a $608,536 budget, 75 per cent of
which comes from the province. The balance is raised through the society's
bingo licence with B.C. Gaming, fees and one per cent from donations.

Since its doors opened 20 years ago, Turning Point has served more than
2,000 addicts, 40 per cent of whom completed the program. According to the
society, 80 per cent of those who finish have stayed clean and sober, even
though these days, the average stay is 90 days because of funding constraints.

Proponents credit Turning Point's common-sense, abstinence-based approach
to addressing drug and alcohol problems for its success. While the approach
differs from the city's harm reduction focus, Viki Engdahl, the society's
executive director, and Michael Goehring, a board member, maintain Turning
Point is an integral part of the spectrum of recovery services in the city.

"We're about being the rock they can stand on when they're pulling
themselves out of the quicksand of addiction," Engdahl said.

Goehring agrees. "There has to be a continuum of care. Abstinence-based
recovery is a really important component on that continuum of care."

Dr. William Rozecki, a retired general practitioner with a special interest
in substance abuse issues, says it would be a shame to lose such programs.
"There are many successful programs but there are fewer and fewer that are
abstinence-based," said Rozecki, who has referred patients to Turning
Point. "There's no question harm reduction has a clientele that needs it,
and there's a place for it, but it's a final approach for people who are
unable to reach total abstinence. It's essential that we don't don't lose
an effective program like [Turning Point]. It saves lives."

David says his life would have gone in an entirely different direction
without Turning Point. "I knew if I left [the residence] I was going to
die, kill myself or end up with a needle in my arm at the corner of Main
and Hastings eventually."