Pubdate: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 Source: Penticton Herald (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://www.pentictonherald.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) HELP HARD TO GET Penticton Woman Tells Of Struggle To Obtain Treatment For Her Drug-Addicted Brother Editor's note: The following story is the third in a four-part series on substance abuse and rehabilitation issues in the Penticton and South Okanagan area. MARK BRETT Penticton Herald Nadine Meagher knows first-hand the dangers of drug abuse, but she wasn't prepared for the roadblocks she would face while attempting to rescue her brother from the nightmare of crystal meth addiction Her problems began recently when she attempted to have the 23-year-old admitted to the 20-bed Phoenix Centre detoxification facility in Kamloops shortly after he was arrested by Penticton RCMP. "He had punched an Ironman (contestant) in the head and tried to steal his bike and was jumping on cars, so he was charged with assault and mischief," said Meagher. "That evening, he called me, methed out of his tree, told me he was in jail and asked me to come and pick him up." She called the watch commander at the RCMP detachment and told him that she and her mother were coming in to talk to the officer who was looking after the matter "We went in and begged him (the officer), 'Please don't release him; commit him under the Mental Health Act.' But the officer said they couldn't do that for a drug addict," said Meagher, who added she even called Penticton-Okanagan Valley MLA Bill Barisoff for help, without success. Her brother was released the following day and came to stay with her. Over the next two days, his mental state deteriorated to the point where she had to get help "He was seeing angels and demons and Jesus . . . so I called them (Phoenix) and they arranged for a bed for him at night. . . . I got him a ride to Kamloops, but when he arrived at the detox centre they wouldn't accept him because they said he was in complete crystal meth psychosis and . . . was a danger to himself," recalled Meagher The Penticton woman maintains she had explained her brother's mental state quite clearly to the worker at Phoenix and was surprised he had not been admitted Admission to detoxification centres is voluntary. They provide a safe and, when necessary, medically supported environment for people who are withdrawing from drugs or alcohol. Meagher said she cannot understand the vicious circle she and her family appear to be caught in, with one government agency after another pointing in different directions with no apparent end in sight for her or her brother "The buck is being passed, and in the meantime he is roaming around in this complete insane state of mind. There has to be some help I can get from someone before it is too late." Meagher, who remembers her brother as a "loving, caring, innocent little boy," eventually was able to get him into a Vancouver detox centre. However, she received a phone call from him this week to let her know he had signed himself out "Now, he's out on the streets of Vancouver," Meagher said Wednesday. "Maybe I can still find him help before he does more crystal meth and dies, but I don't know what else I can do." Meanwhile, at Crossroads Treatment Centre in Kelowna, which, like Phoenix Centre, is contracted by Interior Health for detox services, executive director Corinne Dolman said its eight-bed detox unit is capable of providing service to most people due to a high level of staff training. That level of training may not exist at other facilities, she said "We have very few barriers to treatment or detox," said Dolman. "We take fairly complex clients, but if we're not able to provide them services we would have them transported to KGH (Kelowna General Hospital), but we generally take them all." However, she added that hospitals sometimes are reluctant to take people due to expense and limited resources "There are definitely people that are falling through the cracks because of wait-lists and lack of bed availability. There's no doubt about that," said Dolman. "They would be better served at detox facilities." There is about a 10-day wait at Crossroads, which provides medically supported detox with 24-hour supervised withdrawal services for clients who stay anywhere from five to 10 days. After detox, Crossroads workers attempt to arrange for ongoing support services, generally through a residential facility where clients live while undergoing counselling, usually for about a month From there, the next step is for the client to return to society with the added support of an out-patient facility, such as Pathways Addiction Resource Centre in Penticton "We have one-to-one counselling and groups, and we have intensive treatment programs where people come in here for four hours a day for a month," said Pathways director Jeanni Jones. "It's similar to the residential setting except that it's not residential." Counsellors also talk to clients to determine their needs and provide them with a list of options. According to Jones, the one underlying component of any treatment program, from detox to outpatient care, is client attitude "The most important thing: they have to want to get better," said Jones. - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman