Pubdate: Fri, 23 Dec 2016
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Jeff Lee
Page: 6

SURREY CAPS RECOVERY HOUSE NUMBERS

City council willing to permit 55 homes but no more; rest must be shut
down

Grappling with a sustained fentanyl overdose crisis and the
interrelated issues of drug addiction and homelessness, the City of
Surrey has moved to limit the number of recovery houses that can
operate in its boundaries.

With 50 registered recovery houses, and another 20 unlicensed ones
taking in people with severe addictions, city council this week said
it is willing to permit 55 homes but no more, and that the rest must
shut down.

It may sound counterintuitive to be restricting the spread of recovery
houses when the city is in the midst of a drug and homelessness
crisis, but doing so will help those in need in the long run, said
Coun. Vera LeFranc. The city has been plagued by a group of illegal
and pseudo recovery houses that prey on addicts, particularly on
welfare cheque days, she said.

"They just take peoples' cheques and then kick them out again,"
LeFranc said.

The city has been cracking down on illegal or unregistered recovery
homes for the past two years. In 2014, as many as 250 were open,
causing a flood of complaints, said Jas Rehal, Surrey's manager of
bylaw enforcement. But with sustained enforcement, the city got rid of
the worst, and by 2015 it received only 110 complaints; this year the
number dropped to 79.

Many recovery houses provide great services, including counselling
referrals and other services, LeFranc said. But the object of the
council decision is to keep only the best ones, and work with the
Fraser Health Authority to support their operations.

"We really are hosting a disproportionate number of recovery homes in
Surrey compared to elsewhere in the region," she said. "We're not
trying to limit the good ones, we're trying to get rid of the bad ones."

Rehal said the city will take seven months to close those that don't
receive a licence. No one will be evicted, both he and LeFranc insisted.

Susan Sanderson, executive director of Realistic Success Recovery
Society, said there is lots of demand for recovery houses in Surrey.

"We've been at capacity, if not over capacity, for the last four
months, which is very unusual. We really haven't had an empty bed. We
have to turn people away," Sanderson said.

The non-profit society has operated three publicly funded recovery
homes in Surrey since 2007, which are certified by the B.C. Ministry
of Health's Assisted Living Registry. Each of the homes house 10
people and operate using a 12-step recovery program, combined with
addiction counselling.

Sanderson said it's crucial that beds be available when people seek
help. "Part of addiction is that everyone at some point has a glimmer,
a lucid moment when a person says they need help and they want to stop
doing this," Sanderson said. "If a bed is not available in that
moment, that person is not going to get help. It has to be that
moment. We detox them here."

She applauds Surrey for planning to have more structure and business
licences for recovery homes, but is concerned that if the cap is a
hard cap, she won't be able to expand if a good house becomes available.

"It depends on how they approach it and if there is any room for
organizations to expand," Sanderson said.

She said there are very few recovery homes in Surrey that combine a
12-step program with certified counsellors. She is critical of
unregulated recovery homes, calling them "glorified crack shacks."

"There were a lot of people being mistreated in these facilities,"
Sanderson said.

Sanderson is on a Ministry of Health subcommittee on new recovery home
regulations, but said the City of Surrey didn't contact her about the
changes. The city has indicated it will review the cap once the new
regulations are approved by the Ministry of Health, Sanderson said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt