New Vancouver detox centre serves as a reflection of how attitudes around substance abuse have evolved GlobeBC
But more than a replacement of aging infrastructure, the new building would serve as a reflection of how detoxification itself, and attitudes toward treating substance-use disorder in general, have evolved. British Columbia’s overdose crisis has changed the province’s approach to addiction, from the language used to talk about it to clinical care itself.
For this reason, the new guidelines, which have since been recommended nationally, advise against withdrawal management alone. Instead, those with opioid-use disorder are advised to start opioid agonist therapy , also called substitution therapy, with buprenorphine-naloxone or methadone. These opioid medications serve to prevent withdrawal and reduce cravings, with the intention of stabilizing a person and steering him or her away from illicit drug use.
“Some people want a facility that will support recovery [after detox], some people want to follow up in the community through some outpatient services,” Ms. Levinson said.“Some people say, ‘This is my first time and I just wanted to give it a try but I’m not ready to connect to other services,’ which is fine too. We really see ourselves as part of that continuum of harm reduction. We are the beginning part of recovery.
And whereas the existing detox facility’s outdoor space is limited to an apartment-sized deck, with mismatched chairs and fencing to shield people from neighbouring residents, the new facility will include green spaces, sensory plantings and a “West Coast rock and shade Zen garden," recognizing that “connections to nature can provide relief, comfort and hope to patients in even the most difficult of circumstances,” according to a rezoning application.
“I’m concerned for the people who have sobered up for just four hours and then leave this facility and have to navigate Clark and 1st on foot," Mr. Ferguson said of the high-traffic intersection.Mr. Kenneth went to detox several more times after first stepping foot into the Vancouver Detox Centre, his turning point coming when he secured housing and employment. Today, he lives in an affordable-housing complex in East Vancouver.
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