Pubdate: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 Source: Maple Ridge News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Maple Ridge News Contact: http://www.mapleridgenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1328 Author: Monisha Martins Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) A FIRST RESPONSE TO DRUG ADDICTION On a foggy December day, a gaunt man walks out of Alouette Addiction Services. It's a weekly trek, to "help me stay clean" he says. He is now in the system, accessing services that help him deal with his addiction. He admits it was a struggle to get there. "I've been to detox three times since I started using," said the 40-year old on condition of anonymity. "I used to use heroin and am on the methadone program now." It is easier once you are in the system, he says-once the wait is over, the forms signed and your treatment begins. Wait times for accessing addiction services vary from community to community in British Columbia. In New Westminster, Perspectives Addiction Services has a six-week wait to see a drug and alcohol counsellor. Waits for accessing the provincial methadone program can range from three days to a week or longer, while in Maple Ridge access to a residential treatment bed can vary from a day to a week. On Monday, Alouette Addiction Services launches a new "service on demand" called First Response. The walk-in service will provide an immediate contacts for addicts, explains executive director Ron Lawrence. "We'll be able to help them have the support they need while they are waiting for treatment," he said. "Many of the people get lost because they have nothing to do while they are waiting. The vision is to provide a service where people can come on a daily basis, to have a hot chocolate or a cup of coffee and talk to other people who need services and with professionals who can guide them through the maze." Alouette Addictions works in close partnership with the provincially-run Maple Ridge Treatment Centre. It is a collaboration that has resulted in shorter wait-times for treatment and a quicker response to the drug problem in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. First Response is another creative way to tackle the issue. "It is very exciting what's happening in this community," said Lawrence, who took over as director in October and has been working on First Response ever since. "I came from the Downtown Eastside and I am very interested in providing services that are needed." Started over 20 years ago, Alouette Addiction Services - the sole provider in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows-served 1100 individuals last year. They currently provide individual out-patient counselling and run recovery and parent groups in the evenings and an education series for the public. The agency was bigger 15 years ago, with a staff of nine compared to the current staff of seven. "The demand on our system is so overwhelming that we have to met those demands in different ways," Lawrence said. "If we can do it with day treatment programs out of here, new intiatives or partnerships that's exactly what we are looking at." They have sent a proposal to the Fraser Health Authority to expand their services to meet the growing need. For now however, First Response is being funded by generous individual donors. "We are not going to sit and do nothing while we wait for funding," said Lawrence. The agency has hired one another staff member from Vancouver to help facilitate First Response. "The only salary he has is based on the donations that have come in from the community," Lawrence explains. First Response is a drop-in group, that run from Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to noon at Alouette Addiction Services, 22477 Lougheed Highway, Maple Ridge. For more information, call 604-467 5179. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake