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Calgary Herald

Alberta's fourth addiction recovery community to open in Calgary this summer

Article content Wilson said more capacity is needed across the province to take the pressure off Alberta's big urban centres. Article content 'A lot of the people in the urban centres come from the rurals, so if we can start moving them back out to more towards their communities, it's going to take some pressure off of the big centres like Edmonton and Calgary and Red Deer as well,' said Wilson, who became the Mental Health and Addictions minister on May 16 as part of Premier Danielle Smith's cabinet shuffle. Article content Article content Wilson said he will ask federal Indigenous Services Canada Minister Mandy Gull-Masty for funding for the recovery communities. Article content 'On First Nations especially, they should be doing more,' said Wilson, adding he's hopeful the federal government will step up. Article content Article content 'They've demonstrated they've got that experience and they've got the capacity to deliver that addiction treatment, especially with a special focus on more vulnerable populations,' he said. Article content 'I'm confident, because of their track record, they'll do a good job.' Article content Article content Article content Ryan Gilfillan, Last Door's program director, said the society has been running a drug and alcohol treatment centre in B.C.'s Lower Mainland for about 40 years, and the Alberta government's holistic, therapeutic approach to recovery aligns closely with that of the non-profit. Article content 'You're looking at the whole person instead of that acute, short-term stabilization and then release,' said Gilfillan. Article content Article content 'We're looking at long-term treatment, with residents needing care from anywhere from 90 days to up to a year.' Article content The model emphasizes mutual self-help and peer support, and that residents are actively involved in the community, said Gilfillan. Article content 'That's the whole idea around a recovery community, is they're in a community and they're participating in it in the same way they would in social settings,' he said, adding clients have responsibilities, which increase as they move through treatment. Article content 'When they leave treatment, they're kind of set up in that way of how society operates.' Article content Last Door is already familiar with Calgary, having treated many Calgarians and Albertans at its B.C. facility and running many alumni events in the city. Last year, Last Door organized a 'Sober Stampede' event. Article content 'It will be nice to have a facility here where someone won't have to travel to another province to have to access their care,' said Gilfillan.