Pubdate: Fri, 20 Dec 2013
Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Alberni Valley Times
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/albernivalleytimes/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043
Author: Sarah Simpson

FUNDING ANNOUNCED TO FIGHT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose chose the Cedars at Cobble Hill 
to announce an $11.5-million national project aimed at stamping out 
youth substance abuse on Wednesday.

The Cedars at Cobble Hill is an addiction treatment centre and while 
there, Ambrose joined physicians and leading addiction recovery 
specialists at a roundtable to discuss "real, practical solutions to 
support Canadians in prevention and recovery."

"There are millions of Canadians living in short and long-term 
recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs," Ambrose said. 
"Today's roundtable was about listening to experts and community 
members about what we can do better to prevent our children and youth 
from using drugs, and to further support people in recovery from addiction."

The event was one staff at the Cedars at Cobble Hill were pleased to 
host. "We are thrilled with the leadership of Minister Ambrose in 
making recovery and prevention a priority," said Neal Berger, 
executive director of Cedars.

The goal of the new five-year program, dubbed A Health Promotion and 
Drug Prevention Strategy for Canada's Youth, which dovetails with 
work already being done through the National Anti-Drug Strategy, is 
to prevent illicit drug use among Canadians aged 10 to 24.

Education, sustainable partnerships and national prevention standards 
will help foster that goal, Ambrose noted.

"Preventing substance abuse among young people is a critical focus of 
the government's National Anti-Drug Strategy," she said. "Through 
this contribution, we are helping to increase awareness among youth 
of the dangers of experimenting with drugs, assisting parents in 
keeping their kids drug-free, and ultimately keeping our communities 
safe and healthy."

Five key priority areas will see the bulk of the $11.5 million 
including a knowledge exchange network "to fill a need for a 
prevention hub that will promote communications and collaboration 
amongst those who work in youth substance abuse prevention, as well 
as access to existing resources, tools and knowledge on prevention 
from a broad range of partners."

Other aims include tackling marijuana myths, building youth 
resilience through sport and recreation and developing new strategies 
for youth substance abuse prevention.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom