Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2012
Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2012 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://thechronicleherald.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Clare Mellor

RV READY FOR ROLE AS HALIFAX METHADONE CLINIC

A mobile methadone clinic has made it to Halifax and is expected to 
be ready to roll into Fairview and other communities where it is 
needed by mid-November.

"It needs some TLC," said Cindy MacIsaac, program director of 
Direction 180, as she showed the inside of the giant mobile clinic, 
which was parked Monday near Direction 180 on Gottingen Street.

MacIsaac and Diane Bailey, program director of Mainline Needle 
Exchange, picked up the vehicle in Baltimore, Md., last week and 
drove it back to Halifax, arriving late Saturday.

The 2002 unit, previously used as a methadone clinic, was bought for 
$25,000 from the Institute for Behaviour Resources in Baltimore and 
is expected to cost another $5,000 to 10,000 to fix up.

"In terms of potential, it is more than what we were anticipating," 
MacIsaac said.

The 10.4-metre-long vehicle has an office, waiting area, a bathroom, 
and methadone dispensing area. It also has an area that expands to 
provide additional seating.

"We are hoping that we can serve 150 people (each day) and more. We 
don't know yet."

The vehicle has some dents and scratches, including a few sustained 
in a fender-bender on its journey to Halifax.

The interior also needs cleaning and sprucing up.

"The unit was used to dispense methadone to up to 700 people, so on 
the interior there is wear and tear. We are going to make some 
repairs and modifications," MacIsaac said.

It also needs to be equipped with phones and a computer.

"We are working on all that and we are trying to hire a driver. We 
need a driver who will also serve as a security person and will be 
responsible for looking after the maintenance," MacIsaac said.

Direction 180 decided to buy the mobile clinic in the summer after 
receiving a large donation and was fundraising for the money to operate it.

Until recently, the Gottingen Street organization had also planned on 
opening a second permanent clinic on Dutch Village Road in Fairview. 
They had purchased a home on the street, which was scheduled to open 
earlier this month, but the move was protested when the community 
found out about the plan.

In a series of last-minute negotiations, the Fairview business 
community raised $400,000 to buy the Dutch Village Road property from 
Direction 180. It also came up with another $100,000 to help 
Direction 180 hire the staff needed to operate a mobile clinic.

"We were going to park (the mobile) until we had the resources to get 
it going. Simultaneously, we are working on the methadone program in 
Fairview. Our goal and our hope was to have three (programs: 
Gottingen Street,) Fairview and the mobile."

"I think the end result is a win-win situation with Fairview. They 
provided us with resources so we will be able to put this thing to use.

"However, for me, it is disheartening that a community would go to 
that length to not have the service in their community," MacIsaac said.

The mobile clinic will be going to Fairview, Dartmouth, and "wherever 
there is a need," she said.

"We are going to establish a working group so that there will 
community engagement and consultation before we pull up anywhere," 
MacIsaac said.

Members of neighbourhood organizations and partners, such as the 
North End Community Health Centre and the Mi'kmaq Native Friendship 
Centre, gathered Monday to celebrate the arrival of the mobile 
clinic, MacIsaac said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom