New addictions treatment beds announced for North Okanagan

The B.C. government has announced more treatment beds in the North Okanagan for people living with addictions.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister, Jennifer Whiteside, was in Lumby Tuesday to announce 23 publicly funded registered treatment beds for Red Road Recovery. Those include nine at its Ranch on Creighton Valley Road, and 14 at its facility in Sorrento.

“Recovery is not just about staying clean from all mind-altering substances,” Lindsay-Ann Coville, client of Red Road Recovery Ranch, said. “I will face mental, emotional, physical and spiritual struggles throughout the remainder of my life. Using drugs and alcohol to cope is not the solution to my problems today. With the tools I’ve been gifted by CMHA‘s funding, I can stay clean through life’s challenges I may face in the future.”

The province also confirmed 15 supportive recovery beds for Turning Points Collaborative Society in Vernon. Services include a live-in environment, counselling, medication management and a strong emphasis on community and connection throughout a client’s recovery.

To access the new beds, people can refer themselves or be referred by their health-care professional or other organizations.

“It’s devastating to see so many lives being lost to the toxic-drug crisis,” Whiteside said. “When someone makes the brave decision to reach out for help, they deserve to be met with compassionate care where and when they need it. By adding more treatment beds in the Interior, we’re making sure money and distance are no longer a barrier for people on their recovery journey.”

In January 2024, the province announced an investment of $73-million, distributed through the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), for the expansion of treatment and recovery beds throughout the province, including 61 that are open in the following communities throughout the Interior.

• Lumby/Sorrento
  • Red Road Recovery, 23 beds (registered treatment)
• Vernon
  • Turning Points Collaborative Society, 15 beds (registered supportive recovery)
• Kelowna
  • Karis Support Society, 12 beds (registered supportive recovery)
• Options Family Wellness and Addiction Centre, five beds (registered treatment)
• Penticton
  • Penticton Recovery Resource Society, six beds (registered supportive recovery)

An additional five beds are expected to open this year in Merrit and will be operated by ASK Wellness Society. All 66 beds are administered by the Canadian Mental Health Association – BC Division (CMHA-BC) and are operated by organizations that are licensed or registered with the Province.

These will bring the total number of beds in the Interior Health region to 391.

Red Road Recovery first started operating in 2021 with a seven private-bed facility in Sorrento, and expanded to Lumby at the start of this year.

Scott Tremblett, CEO and Executive Director of Red Road Recovery, stated the new Ranch site was purchased in December of 2023, converted, and ready to welcome patients by January of 2024.

“[In January] we did acquire the grant through CMHA, we’re very grateful for that, which allowed us to obtain 23 publicly funded beds, 14 of them are in Sorrento and nine of them are here, leaving us with another 15 private beds here at the ranch,” Tremblett told members of the media following Tuesday’s event.

Red Road Recovery, which works in partnership with First Nations, offers 90 day holistic treatment programs for people who have already undergone a seven-day detox, and the CEO stated the waitlist for their services have grown to around a 6-month wait since the new facility became available in January.

Tremblett added Red Road Recovery was planning further expansions in the future, noting a property in Salmon Arm had just been secured for a 10 bed facility, and the service provide is also exploring options for expanding to Northern B.C.

He added Red Road also wants to launch a detox centres, though plans for that were still in the works.

“We’ve got a big vision for British Columbia to turn this [addiction crisis] around and help a lot of people and we’re excited to be a part of it,” Tremblett said.

“We are going to expand one way or another because we believe in what we’re doing and we’ve got a lot of talks going on with the Nations all over British Columbia, but with the help of government, if they were to commit more funding, it would allow us to accelerate our plan and help a lot more people a lot faster.”