Young people dealing with addiction have another option to help them turn around their lives: a long-term treatment facility slated to open in the quiet B.C. countryside near Keremeos.
A ceremony yesterday marked the completion of construction of The Crossing, a 42-bed facility on a 24-hectare site about six kilometres from Keremeos. Staff have been hired and the first clients have been accepted.
Central City Foundation, which owns the property and is leasing it at no cost to the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health authorities, has pledged another $1 million to the project and raised $5.5 million more from private donors.
The Crossing will help both boys and girls. The existing Last Door Recovery Society has operated a long-term, residential treatment centre for male youth in B.C. for more than 13 years, and an adult program for 25 years.
"We feel enormously proud of the effort the foundation has put forward," said Jennifer Johnstone, Central City Foundation president and chief executive.
The Crossing will operate with about $2.4 million in annual funding from the two Lower Mainland health authorities, while Interior Health will provide urgent or emergency services.
Boys and girls up to age 24 will stay at The Crossing for up to a year and will get therapy, education and job training.
