FAQs
- Counselling, group therapy, peer support, recovery coaching, and life skills training for residents. Training would include parenting skills, healthy eating development, money management and budgeting, and group recreational activities; and,
- Group facilitation and one-on-one addiction counseling, provided by a clinician. An on-call clinical team would be available after-hours for special circumstances and emergencies.
- Take a lead role in responding to the opioid epidemic, including coordinating actions with City partners.
- Foster a community that proactively addresses health issues and facilitates healthy built environments.
- Allow the organization to pilot the recovery program on a temporary basis;
- Test the financial viability of the program’s business model; and,
- Allow the organization to establish a positive relationship with the community through the duration of the TUP.
What is the need for recovery and transitional programs?
Substance Use and the Overdose Epidemic
The BC Centre on Substance Use estimates that one in every five Canadians will be impacted by substance use and related harms in their lifetime. While individuals can experience a variety of substance use challenges, those using illicit drugs are at a significant risk. Provincial medical experts have reported that increasingly toxic drug supply is a major driver of overdose deaths, and is currently the leading cause of unnatural death in the province.
In 2016, the Province of British Columbia declared a Public Health Emergency in response to the rise in illicit drug overdoses and deaths. This epidemic continues to claim a record number of lives in New Westminster, with 42 recorded deaths in 2021, compared to 16 in the year the health emergency was declared.
The Need for Recovery and Transitional Programs
While overdose prevention services offer a low-barrier point of introduction to health and/or social services for people with substance use issues, there is a recognized need for a continuum of health supports to address the overdose epidemic and other substance use harms. This includes access to dedicated treatment and recovery programs, and affordable, stable, and secure housing for those in recovery.
Research shows that recovery programs, sometimes called transitional programs, are a vital resource in early recovery when individuals remain vulnerable and susceptible to relapse. Recovery programs that offer safe and substance-free supportive living environments, as well as social supports, are critical to long-term success in maintaining abstinence and long-term recovery from active addiction.
What are the details of this residential recovery program?
A residential recovery program provides housing and support services to a particular group of people. For this project, a maximum of 10 men, between the ages of 19 to 70 years would live at 311 Louellen Street in a supportive drug-, alcohol-, and smoke-free group living environment.
This is not a treatment facility. These men will previously have received treatment for drug use, alcohol use, video game addiction, and/or gambling addiction, and will be provided supports to improve their mental and physical health. These supports would also help them build skills to enable independent living and long-term addiction recovery, and re-entry into the community, school and /or workforce.
The program is intended to bridge the gap between primary residential care treatment and independent living. Primary residential care treatment focuses on addiction treatment. Recovery and transitional living programs focus on providing individuals who have gone through primary residential treatment with support and life skills to live successful, sober and independent lives.
What kind of supportive services will be provided to residents of the recovery program?
Supportive services that would be provided through the program will include:
Who is Maintain Recovery?
Maintain Recovery is a counselling service owned and operated by Ryan Gilfillan that was developed for individuals who require ongoing support and recovery management after completing bed-based treatment. Over the last four years, Maintain Recovery has grown to also provide family case management and early support to families struggling with their family member’s addiction. Further information about Maintain Recovery can be found at www.maintainrecovery.com.
Who would work at the facility?
An addiction counsellor would be present during the day, and peer support staff would be present during evenings and at night. A house manager would live at the facility to oversee residents and undertake day-to-day maintenance of the house.
The facility would be supported by certified, trained, and professional staff, who have a relationship with successful, New Westminster-based recovery programs.
What kind of training will staff have?
Those providing clinical services would be required to hold a Canadian addiction counselling certificate, recovery coach certificate, or an addiction counsellor certificate or equivalent. Support staff present at night would have lived experience and training in naloxone and conflict resolution.
How many people would live at the facility?
The facility will be limited to a maximum of 10 people receiving care and one house manager, for a total of 11 residents. This total does not include staff and counsellors who would not live on the property.
What would be expected of the residents in the facility?
Residents would be expected to meet house standards and to maintain accordance with behaviour contracts established at client intake. Clients will also have an early discharge plan created upon arrival to discuss their options should relapse or breach of contract occur.
Should their behavioural contract or program requirements be breached, the resident would access their early discharge plan and be discharged. If a resident relapses, they would be brought to a Sobering and Assessment Centre, and referrals could also be made for primary treatment.
What kind of oversight would the facility receive?
As a condition of the TUP, the facility would be required to become registered with the Assisted Living Registry, under the Provincial Community Care and Assisted Living Act (CCALA), within one year of operation. The Registry is a Provincial body that provides oversight to promote and protect the health, safety and well-being of residents, and monitors operators for compliance with the CCALA and the Assisted Living Regulation.
What is the policy framework in support of the residential recovery facility?
The following City plans and policies are supportive of a residential recovery program:
Council’s Strategic Plan (2019) includes the following strategic direction and action:
The Our City Official Community Plan (2017) includes the following policy:
Is the residential recovery facility permitted in the RS-1 zone?
The proposed residential recovery facility is not a permitted use in Single Detached Residential Districts (RS-1) zone. As a result, a Zoning Amendment or a Temporary Use Permit (TUP) is required to permit the proposed use.
What is a Temporary Use Permit (TUP)?
A Temporary Use Permit, if approved by City Council, would enable the applicant to operate the proposed residential recovery facility for a three-year period subject to the conditions outlined in the permit. The applicant could also renew the permit for an additional three-year period. In the future, the applicant could apply to rezone the property.
Why is the applicant applying for a TUP instead of a permanent rezoning of the property?
The applicant has submitted a TUP application, rather than a formal rezoning, as the TUP would:
Should the proposed pilot program experience success at this location, and prove to be financially viable, the applicant has stated they would seek to rezone the property to permanently permit the use.
What are the opportunities for engagement for this application?
Only written feedback is required for TUP applications. The City will notify community members of a Request for Public Comment period, which will occur from September 8 to 19, 2022. Written feedback received during the Public Comment period will be provided directly to Council prior to their decision on the permit application on September 19.
The applicant will also host an open house on September 12, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm online via Zoom. The event will provide an opportunity for the applicant to answer questions about the proposal, and to receive feedback.
The results of the open house and any feedback received prior to September 8 will be summarized in a memo provided to Council as part of the September 19, 2022 Council meeting package.