Health Minister Josie Osborne announced on Monday the opening of 26 publicly funded addictions treatment and recovery beds in B.C., including six in Nanaimo.
“These beds are much more than a place to stay — they’re a doorway to care, stability and recovery,” Osborne said at a news conference in 91原创.
Behind every death as a result of the toxic-drug-overdose crisis is a person, a family and a community that is suffering unimaginable loss, which is why expanding access to free, publicly funded treatment is critical, she said.
Osborne said the 26 newest beds should support roughly 250 people over the next two years, noting people can stay in these facilities for “shorter or longer periods of time.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addictions Amna Shah said 250 people “may seem small,” but “that is 250 families, all of the people who love and know these people, and the communities they live in.”
The beds are part of the government’s ongoing expansion of treatment and recovery services in partnership with the B.C. division of the 91原创 Mental Health Association.
CMHC-BC CEO Jonathan Morris suggested Monday that 250 people served over two years is “quite a conservative estimate.”
“People come in and out of treatment in the journey of recovery for different lengths of time,” said Morris.
“It’s very clear in the beds within the network that the province has funded for us, since inception, over 2,000 lives have been changed and served through the tenure of this project.”
Since 2017, the province says, it has added 682 publicly funded adult and youth substance-use treatment beds around B.C., including 248 administered through CMHA-BC, with more to open in the spring.
The beds announced Monday — six that opened in Nanaimo in August, and 12 that opened in 91原创’s Downtown Eastside last week — are intended to provide access to addictions care for under-served populations.
Expanded services are now available at:
• Island Crisis Care in Nanaimo, with six beds for women who have completed treatment to get longer-term support with their recovery and rebuilding a healthy life in a homelike setting.
• Harbour Light Centre in 91原创’s Downtown Eastside, with 12 beds for women offering a range of mental-health and addictions services, and connection to community supports.
• Karis Support Society service in Kelowna, with six beds providing support for pregnant women and women with children to help reach their recovery goals.
• 333 Recovery program in Prince Rupert, with two beds offering recovery supports for men, including Indigenous cultural-focused programs.
There is a total of 3,700 publicly funded adult and youth substance beds, treatment and recovery beds across the province, said Osborne.
The province set aside more than $1 billion over three years in the 2023 provincial budget to strengthen mental-health and addictions care in B.C. The next budget is set for March 4.
