The program is currently open for referrals and accepted its first residents in September. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

More people in Nanaimo will now have access to treatment beds for substance-use care closer to home as the Ministry of Health opens six new recovery beds in Nanaimo.

The Ministry of Health has announced funding for 26 new publicly funded beds across the province to help improve access to addiction care.

The ministry said four under-served locations including Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Kelowna, Prince Rupert, and Nanaimo received the funding.

Island Crisis Care Society (ICCS) in Nanaimo, received funding for six beds for women and men for those who need longer-term support with their recovery.

CHLY spoke with the Executive Director for Island Crisis Care, Violet Hayes about receiving these new beds.

The new beds will be used in ICCS’s David’s Place Recovery Program which opened in August of last year. The program offers assisted living services for people seeking support with their recovery in a homelike setting.

ICCS said the program is to rebuild healthy relationships and habits while working on their mental and physical health once they have physically detoxed.

The program is currently open for referrals and accepted its first residents in September.

“So people can apply by themselves, independently through our website, there's a link there where they can go in and apply,” Hayes said. “Then once the application is received, then they are contacted by our client case manager, who then does an assessment and just looks at whether they would be a good fit or not.”

Hayes said people can also be referred to his program by someone's case worker.

She said people can stay up to 18 months for the program and that the program will be adjustable for each person’s needs.

“We're trying to focus on three-month segments just to help people. Maybe they need three months, maybe they need six months, but you know, just putting it into segments like that, everyone has an individual case plan,” Hayes said. “So working through that with them, we have all sorts of programming and counselling available, and it is individual for each person.”

She said having these spaces in their program will be beneficial for people in Nanaimo who now don’t have to travel far for treatment.

“It's huge because to have to leave your community and go away somewhere can be very difficult–family connections and different things,” Hayes said. “We also see that if people have broken relationships with their family, and that's part of their plan is to try and build those relationships, if you know the family's here in Nanaimo, it just makes it a lot easier. Some people might be working, and so for them to be able to continue their job means a lot as well.”

Hayes said the program is dependent on each person’s needs. The program offers life skills including employment programs. The program will also work with residents and try to bring in the resources that best fit their needs.

While Hayes said six beds is not enough, she said it is a starting point.

“We have people coming right from shelter, maybe supportive housing, and then transitional housing, so all the different levels and the continuum of care,” Hayes said. “Then when a person is ready, they want to take that next step, they're ready for recovery, we then have the beds in the house, and those relationships are so important to be able to actually trust us as an organization and our staff, and then to have that continuation is extremely helpful in people's recovery.”

CHLY reached out to the Ministry of Health but did not hear back before the deadline.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.