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MERRITT HERALD TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
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Rehab centre opens up outside Logan Lake By Michael Potestio the herald
reporter@merrittherald.com
A new recovery centre for drug addiction has officially opened near Logan Lake. Representatives from the provincial and federal governments, along with the non-profit recovery society VisionQuest — the organization responsible for operating the facility — announced The Lake’s opening from inside its walls on Friday. The 50-bed federalprovincial housing facility is a re-purposed youth corrections centre that provides men living with drug addiction and mental health issues a life skills recovery program. The one-year program is abstinence-based, meaning clients quit their addictions cold turkey. It focuses on healing circles and getting addicts to understand the depth of what they’ve done wrong, VisionQuest executive director Jim O’Rourke said. Although the facility is open to anyone with addiction, VisionQuest specializes in prolific offenders who are court-ordered to attend one of its seven rehabilitation facilities in B.C. Attending a facility could be part of a probation order, bail or an alternative to jail time. The facility currently houses 20 people, six of whom are self-admitted and do not have criminal records, VisionQuest assistant director Rick Edwards said. He said residents are to
Representatives from the federal and provincial governments and VisionQuest prepare to cut the ceremonial ribbon to mark the grand opening of The Lake, a rehabilitation centre for men with drug addictions and mental health issues. Pictured are, from left: Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas, former VisionQuest client Justin Harty, VisionQuest board member Gary Bass, TNRD director for Area J Ronaye Elliott, Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart, Housing Minister Rich Coleman, RCMP Staff Sgt. Maj. John Buis and VisionQuest executive director Jim O’Rourke. Michael Potestio/Herald
This former youth correctional facility at 7185 Tunkwa Lake road about 20 kilometres north of Logan Lake is now the site of a recovery facility for men with mental health issues and drug addictions. Michael Potestio/Herald
stay on the property at all times and are only allowed off it if escorted by a staff member. Four VisionQuest staff members are on site, and the number of staff members will increase as the number of clients does. VisionQuest director Gary Bass said the facility
will start with 20 clients and over the course of about eight months will take in the capacity of 50 people. The facility is located on Thompson-Nicola Regional District land at 7185 Tunkwa Lake Road and includes classrooms, a workshop, recreational hall, dining area and dorms for clients
and staff. It was purchased by the provincial government about seven years ago and was renovated into the facility it is today thanks to $620,815 in funding split between the federal and provincial governments. O’Rourke said it’s cheaper to house prolific offenders here than in jail, stating it costs about $207 per day for jail compared to the $31 it costs to house them at the facility. The plan is to have the clients work on the 750-acre property, with possibilities of working in furniture repair, cattle farming or even dog food manufacturing in an effort to build job skills. O’Rourke said clients of the facility are required to contribute 100 hours of community service. Housing Minister Rich
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Coleman said this facility is all about giving people a new life. “It’s about us understanding that people who have difficulties in life need to be supported,” Coleman said. “It’s about us having heart and caring about the rest of humanity, not putting it in some box and deciding that they’re something that they’re not or something we’ve decided they are.” He said one reason people wind up in and out of jail is due to drug and mental health issues. Bass said the society wants the facility to be a “place of pride” for the surrounding community, and welcomes any input from people on how to be that. However, the fact people with criminal backgrounds are being brought into the area has unsettled some in neighbouring Logan Lake. Barry Brommeland, a retired corrections officer who lives in Logan Lake, said he thinks this facility could pose a threat to the town. Logan Lake Mayor Robin Smith said she understands that Logan Lake can’t have a “not in my backyard” attitude. “It is obviously a concern for us. We’re a pretty small, safe community,” Smith said. “We have to accept that they have a place as well and they do need recovery, and if that’s really the goal out there then hopefully it is and hopefully it will work out well,” she said. There is a screening process when it comes to
accepting addicts with criminal records, O’Rourke said, and anyone deemed a “high risk” will not be accepted. “If they’re going to harm the community, we won’t take them,” O’Rourke said. “We don’t want dangerous people here,” Edwards added. Besides, O’Rourke said, people with criminal records already live amongst the general public. “At least here you know where they’re at,” he said. Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas said the facility has stern rules, noting signs warn against bringing in contraband. “There’s a lot of conditions and controls that are here,” Albas said, noting VisionQuest has a good reputation. Justin Harty is one of the people who have benefitted from one of VisionQuest’s facilities. Once a credit card fraudster and meth addict, Harty now builds cellphone towers for Telus and has been meth-free for five years. Harty said he believes jail doesn’t work for people who have nothing to lose. He said going to jail institutionalized him. “Every time I got out, it’d be like letting a dog off a leash, and I’d run wild for a month or two,” Harty said. He said VisionQuest’s program gave him structure and taught him how to live a more normal life. O’Rourke said VisionQuest has about a 38 per cent success rate in getting people clean and making them law abiding citizens.
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