Addiction recovery help for teen girls draws nearer
Date: Saturday, November 22 @ 14:52:07 PST
Topic: Crystal Meth Society


Vancouver Island is closer to opening its first residential addiction recovery facility targeting teenage girls.

The Salvation Army saw the need for such a facility after observing the success of Beacon of Hope house, a residential treatment facility it opened in Vic West for teenage boys 18 months ago.

In that time more than 50 boys have moved through the program. Now the Salvation Army is looking to give substance-addicted girls the same opportunity.

“We believe it is a very much-needed program,” said Salvation Army Victoria spokesperson Carol Barton.

During its first year of service Beacon of Hope program director Rhiannon Porcellato said, 100 requests were received from females looking for similar help. The six-bed house is the only residential recovery support facility for youth in Greater Victoria.

The Salvation Army has located two potential sites for a girls-only facility – tentatively named Beacon of Light. One is in the Esquimalt/Vic West area, the other in Victoria. The recovery centre would house up to six people and cost roughly $300,000 to operate per year. “We haven’t worked out a lot of the details because we are looking at the statistics right now to see if the need is the same for girls,” Barton said.

The TELUS Victoria Community Board and Santa’s Anonymous each plan to donate $50,000 to the Salvation Army to get the project off the ground. The influx of cash is a huge step forward, Barton said. The Salvation Army will also pour in a financial contribution, but is looking for outside partners.

Currently the Vancouver Island Health Authority contributes $140,000 annually to Beacon of Hope house. The health authority has not yet discussed potential funding for the new facility, according to VIHA spokesperson Shannon Marshall.

“In the absence of any kind of proposal from (the Salvation Army) it is pretty hard to speak to something that doesn’t exist yet,” she said.

VIHA invests more than $1 million for youth addiction programs each year on the Island, plus $350,000 on crystal meth treatment initiatives.

For more information on the Beacon of Hope house or to donate to the girls facility, please contact Barton at 250-386-3366 or email Carol_Barton@can.SalvationArmy.org.

Other TELUS Victoria Community Board donations made Monday:

• $50,000 to the Victoria Conservatory of Music for its summer music academy

• $20,000 to the Greater Victoria YM/YWCA to recruit couples to host street-involved young women through their pregnancies.

• $10,000 to help the “Power To Be” Adventure Therapy Society run a Wilderness School in Sooke for at-risk young people.

• $10,000 to expand Victoria Riding for the disabled program.

• $10,000 to enable University of Victoria researchers to create a Smart Music Browser for those with severe disabilities.

• $10,000 for the Crystal Meth Society of B.C. for meth education delivery and to train volunteers to educate young people on the dangers of crystal meth use.





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