Alberta Expands Addiction Treatment with Opening of Third Recovery Community
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
164.95956
Summary
Learn English with Premier Rachel Notley at the opening of the Lakeview Recovery Community, a new recovery community in Edmonton, Alberta, which is the third of 11 planned recovery communities across the province, and the first community to open its doors.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
And I am pleased to be here alongside some of the people who are at the forefront of the work to
00:00:06.160
bring people out of addiction and into recovery. We're all aware of the impact of mental health
00:00:12.960
struggles and addiction and how deadly and devastating it can be. Too many Albertans are
00:00:18.640
familiar with this pain or with the despair of watching loved ones sink beneath the weight of
00:00:23.840
these challenges. Change is long overdue and while other governments pursue more ways to make illegal
00:00:29.560
drugs more accessible we're taking a different approach. We're giving people the opportunity to
00:00:34.520
turn their lives around because that is true compassion. Leaving people to suffer is unacceptable
00:00:40.360
and cruel and it's why we were clear in our aims during the election campaign last year.
00:00:45.320
Our government was elected on the promise to improve health care delivery and especially in
00:00:51.400
mental health and addiction and we've moved quickly to increase access to the supports that give people
00:00:56.760
a new lease on life. We eliminated user fees for publicly funded treatment. We funded 10 000
00:01:03.240
additional spaces so that more Albertans can use detox and treatment and recovery services. We've made
00:01:10.360
medication-based treatment for opioid addiction available on demand through the virtual opioid
00:01:16.280
dependency program with no fees and no wait lists. We've created same-day access to affordable and
00:01:22.440
accessible counseling services through Counseling Alberta which you can reach through 2-1-1 and now
00:01:27.720
the third of our 11 planned recovery communities is up and running. I'm delighted to say that the
00:01:33.800
Lakeview recovery community has opened its doors to welcome its first clients. This recovery community
00:01:39.400
has 75 beds which will allow men struggling with addiction to regain their health and to rebuild their
00:01:46.040
lives in peace and safety. They'll be able to stay for up to one year and with access to an incredible
00:01:52.280
range of services designed to help them start over. The goal is for each client to leave drug free and
00:01:58.840
ready to begin jobs or training with the help of strong connections close to home. But they're not the
00:02:04.280
only ones who will benefit from this community. As we continue expanding treatment options across the
00:02:09.080
province for Albertans we must find and train more professionals to run facilities and programs. So the
00:02:15.640
Lakeview recovery community will also host the Recovery Training Institute of Alberta. This will be a
00:02:21.160
provincial training hub for addiction recovery staff. Students will get hands-on experience in addiction
00:02:27.640
treatment the service these services through a teaching hospital model and we will need every single
00:02:34.200
graduate because eight more recovery communities are at various stages of planning and construction and
00:02:40.360
five of these projects are being built in conjunction with partnerships with First Nations and Indigenous
00:02:46.760
communities across the province. Each of these initiatives is part of the Alberta recovery model a holistic
00:02:53.560
system of care that embraces prevention intervention treatment and recovery. This is about giving Albertans
00:03:00.440
the chance to heal and reclaim their lives by breaking free from addiction. Everyone who's suffering deserves
00:03:06.520
compassion so that they can leave the past where it belongs and thank you to the Rosk Solutions Group for
00:03:11.640
providing that by running the Lakeview recovery community. Thank you as well to all the staff who will
00:03:17.000
deliver on the promise of the Alberta recovery model. Thank you as well to the council members who are here
00:03:23.000
as well supporting this incredible initiative in your community and most of all thank you to everyone
00:03:29.000
entering Lakeview. You have the courage and the strength to change and I admire that and I'm looking forward to your