By Cheryl Jahn

Sobering Centre coming soon

Jun 29, 2023 | 3:27 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Originally BC Housing had earmarked the location at First Avenue and Dominion Street for a sobering centre. But plans have changed and a location on Second Avenue is the new location for the centre with Northern Health assuring work is underway to get the facility open soon.

“There were some renovations that had to occur,” explains Penny Anquish, COO for Northern Health Those have already happened. Right now, they’re in a position where they’re just having to put up some sort of walls between the bed spaces that are there. So that’s the only piece that’s really left to do there. And now they’ve got staffing for hiring staff and so on. That’s well underway as well. And so again, you know, for sure by the end of July is what we’re looking at.”

A sobering centre has been on the local RCMP Superintendent’s radar since taking the top job in 2019. He says the RCMP holds countless people in cells overnight due to intoxication either by alcohol or drugs where they could be better served with a sobering centre.

“Babysitting persons who are intoxicated isn’t our function,” says Superintendent Shaun Wright with the Prince George Detachment. “We don’t have the medical expertise to properly supervise them for extended periods. So I don’t want to be in the business of housing intoxicated persons, unfortunately, under the current system. Our cellblock is the only location for those individuals. So yeah, I’m very excited to see an alternative for that.” But Superintendent Shaun Wright says, while a sobering centre is a helpful addition to services, there is still one area that is sorely lacking locally in terms of helping those with mental health and addictions.

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“I would say the one that’s most sorely lacking is treatment,” says Supt Wright. “There’s a lot of talk about it and I would hope the sobering centre is a gateway to treatment. There are a lot of people who subscribe to drug use and dealing with the problems of addiction by ways other than abstinence and not even advocating for that. I think that’s a mistake.”

In the meantime, Carrier Sekani Family Services has been chosen as the operator of the facility and Northern Health has an ambitious timeline.

“We are getting that service well underway. We’ve got a contract with the partner, Harris County Family Services. And so they’re just finishing up some minor renovations at this point to get the spaces available. And so, you know, by the end of July, for sure, we’re hoping that that will be up and running.”