Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2016
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Nick Eagland
Page: A3

FAMILY SAYS IT TRIED TO GET HELP FOR TEEN WHO DIED OF OVERDOSE

Youth representative says B.C. failed to provide necessary
treatment

B.C.'s Representative for Children and Youth says the suspected
overdose death last weekend of a Coquitlam teenager was a "tragedy
that could have been prevented."

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said her office worked with 16-year-old
Gwynevere Staddon's family to try and find her treatment, and said her
father did everything possible to properly navigate the system and ask
for help.

She called the family's case "a heartbreaking nightmare" that was
completely preventable.

"This is a tragic case of a family that reached out for support and
saw their daughter slipping away from them - and unfortunately was not
given the support they needed," Turpel-Lafond said.

Gwynevere's body was found inside a Port Moody coffee shop washroom
Sunday. Police found drugs and paraphernalia nearby. The toxic opioid
fentanyl has not yet been ruled out in her death.

Turpel-Lafond said wait-lists for residential treatment stretch
"months and months" and government supports are unco-ordinated and not
designed appropriately.

"This was a death that should not have happened," she said. "This was
a tragedy that could have been prevented."

Just two weeks ago, Gwynevere and her mother, Veronica Staddon, were
celebrating at the Vancouver Pride Parade. Despite the teen's recent
struggle with opioid use, she had given her mother hope by telling her
she had been off heroin for a couple of weeks.

Staddon has been left heartbroken and haunted by thoughts of the
low-level street dealers who preyed on her child as the family
struggled to find treatment.

"Everybody says I will never be the same," Staddon said. "Everybody
says I will never feel like normal again, and (this is) my new life
and my new reality."

Staddon said Gwynevere's behaviour changed just after Christmas as her
addiction strengthened its grip.

She laments what she believes is a massive gap in affordable treatment
services for youth.

Staddon and her ex-husband worked around the clock to find help for
their daughter, but found rehabilitation facilities were "few and far
between" in B.C., with limited beds and waiting lists up to two years.

"Either you have to pay a lot of money, or wait. And the waiting list
is at least four to six months, which, during that time, every day
there's two people being killed," Staddon said, referring to the 371
who died in B.C. of illicit-drug overdoses during the first half of
2016.

Fraser Health Authority spokeswoman Tasleem Juma called the teen's
death tragic and said the health authority is reviewing the case to
see how it was handled.

Juma said she was unable to comment specifically on the case because
of privacy restrictions, but the teen "did access a number of
different services that were wrapped around her over a number of
years," including from other government agencies.

She said Fraser Health wasn't sure what waiting list for what service
the family was speaking publicly about.

There is an average six-week wait for a youth to access one of Fraser
Health's four residential youth treatment beds for addictions, where
treatment can take several weeks, Juma said.

However, if a youth is deemed "in crisis" the health authority can get
them instant access to a bed outside the region, such as in Vancouver
Coastal Health or beds funded by the province, in hospitals, or in
private clinics, she said.

There is virtually no wait to access the authority's six youth detox
beds, as well as community supports, counselling and day programs,
Juma said.

"This was a beautiful young woman," Turpel-Lafond said. "Sometimes
when we think about these families, people judge these families and
think there's some type of flaw or moral failing that gets a child
into this situation. I really stand with this family to say this
family did everything they could. The fact is, in British Columbia,
the support this girl needed was not there and she died."

Coquitlam-Maillardville NDP MLA Selina Robinson said the teen's death
is heartbreaking. A former youth drug and alcohol counsellor, Robinson
said she is hearing more frequently from families about long waiting
times and lack of help for kids struggling with drug addiction.

Months-long waits for children to get into treatment aren't
acceptable, because evidence shows you have to act quickly when kids
say they are ready to get help, Robinson said.

Full in-patient treatment is important, because it gets kids away from
their friends and peer group, and into an environment where they can
change their lifestyle while getting help, she said.

"You can't separate youth mental health and addictions," she said.
"Our children are self-medicating. It's getting worse. It's not
getting better."

Serious problems in B.C.'s youth mental health and addictions services
have long been known by government.

An all-party committee of MLAs tackled the issue in a January report,
after hearing from parents and service providers about frustrating
gaps in addiction services.

It recommended all children and youth with mental health issues be
assessed within one month and start receiving treatment within 30 days
after that assessment.

"One consistent message the committee heard is that it is critical
that urgent action be taken to improve the delivery of mental health
services to children, youth, and young adults," the MLAs wrote in
their final report.

"We know the current level of mental health services in British
Columbia is not meeting the demand for child and youth mental health
services. While we have many services available, they are not
necessarily easily accessible or well integrated as a system of care.
We have heard the urgent need to address the challenges faced by
children, youth, their caregivers, and mental health
professionals."

The MLAs recommended Premier Christy Clark create a new Ministry for
Mental Health, to better co-ordinate help, but the premier did not act
upon the suggestion.

The B.C. Liberal government promised in its 2013 election platform to
add 500 new addiction beds in health care facilities, to provide
treatment to addicts. But it has yet to create all those spaces.

Health Minister Terry Lake told the legislature in May that government
has opened 220 beds, but must still create 280 more to reach its
promised goal of 1,604 substance-abuse beds by 2017.

Health Authorities, which are debating with government about what
exactly constitutes a "bed" for substance abuse, are expected to find
the money within existing budgets to operate all the new spaces, which
is estimated at roughly $20 million to $40 million annually, Lake said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt