Alberta Expands Addiction Treatment with Opening of Third Recovery Community
Episode Stats
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