Pubdate: Thu, 28 Nov 2002
Source: Burnaby Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.burnabynow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1592
Author: Dan Hilborn

RECOVERY HOUSE CUT BY 40 PER CENT

Trish knew she was truly messed up when her two-year spree of booze, crack 
cocaine and marijuana abuse left her stranded in an eastside hotel room 
with a man throwing knives at the walls.

Weighing less than 100 pounds and covered in scab marks from the drug 
abuse, Trish knew there were only two ways out of this mess - stop the 
cycle of addiction or die.

But when she finally made the call to a detox centre, she was told her best 
hope was being placed on a waiting list.

"It was awful," Trish said this week, almost one year after that fateful 
day. "I just wanted to die. I didn't want to be sober, I'd pushed my family 
away, and the worst thing about it is I was more worried about my cat than 
my own son."

But today, Trish is now firmly on the road to recovery thanks to the fact 
that she found space inside one of the few dedicated recovery houses for 
women in the province of B.C.

On April 15 this year, Trish moved into Charlford House, a 14-bed 
supportive recovery home located in a quiet north Burnaby neighbourhood, 
where she has begun learning the tools that helped her to say no to drugs 
and get her life back on track.

Next month, Trish expects to celebrate her first clean and sober birthday 
since she was a teenager.

Unfortunately, the good work of Charlford House may be at risk. After 35 
years of helping women clean up from drug and alcohol abuse, the 
Burnaby-based recovery program which has a success rate of 57 per cent, has 
been handed a 40 per cent budget cut.

In addition to the funding cuts, Charlford House has been told that it may 
be forced to accept new clients who do not follow the recovery program 
based on the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

"It's basically ludicrous what they're doing," says Cal Walker, a certified 
general accountant and executive director of Charlford House. "We were 
willing to take a cut of five to 10 per cent, but 40 per cent is a little 
steep."

The funding cut is supposedly targeted at the 'administrative costs' of 
Charlford House, but with a staff of only four people, there's not much to 
cut in that department. So in reality, instead of reducing their top staff 
person and chief fundraiser to working just two days per month, Charlford 
House will likely be forced to eliminate its most ambitious project - the 
dream of buying and owning its own property.

Other items that will likely be lost are bus passes for the clients, 
swimming programs and a week-long summer camping trip where clients can 
bring their children.

Walker said some of the funding cuts are penny wise and pound foolish. For 
example, during the interview for this story, Women's' and Children's 
Hospital called Charlford House to state that a client had just arrived in 
a taxi to be treated for an asthma attack. However, under the cutbacks, 
that client would have been forced to take an ambulance to hospital instead 
of a taxi - meaning Victoria would be billed $75 for the EHS ride instead 
of $30 for a cab.

Another cutback is the elimination of funding for the voluntary board of 
directors - meaning those people will now have to pay for their own 
training and seminars, and even their own pizza on nights when they host 
board meetings. That change will probably result in fewer people 
volunteering to help, says Walker.

Charlford House staff believe the provincial government and the local 
health authority are putting peoples' lives at risk for the sake of saving 
a few dollars.

"These budget cuts are just that - cuts. In my opinion, they don't seem to 
care if people die," Walker said.

"That's what it translates into - people will die," adds program director 
Linda Shaw, who became a drug and alcohol counselor after she stopped 
cleaning up from her own additions more than 18 years ago. "It's like the 
government is telling these people that they are disposable."

And clients like Trish, the impending loss of the camping trips and other 
'extras' at Charlford House would mean there is less likelihood that she'd 
ever get clean.

"Charlford House made me face a lot of my past that I didn't want too 
face," says Trish, who is happy to announce that's she's gained 40 pounds 
and her complexion has cleaned up since she stopped using drugs.

"I remember I used to blame the world for all my troubles. But today, I see 
it's because I refused to deal with the problems in my life. This house 
saved my life," she said. "When one of my best friends died this summer, I 
had the security and safety of this house to fall back on.

"Now I have people I can call and places I can go."
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MAP posted-by: Beth