At least a third of the publicly funded #AddictionTreatment beds #BCgovernment claims are available for drug users across #BritishColumbia do not actually offer treatment, the #IJF has learned.
“B.C. now has 3,645 publicly funded substance-use treatment beds, including 659 beds opened since 2017 with more to come,” the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions announced in an Aug. 27 press release.
But a breakdown of the available types of adult and youth treatment options provided by the ministry shows that its tally includes 1,232 low-barrier housing beds, accounting for about 34 per cent of the total.
#Addictions treatment is not directly provided in low-barrier housing in B.C., but is part of “a full continuum of support services,” the ministry said in an email to the IJF. This type of facility simply makes shelter available to people who use drugs, without requiring them to abstain or be in treatment.
The news comes as both the #BCConservatives and the #BCNDP government are touting #involuntary addiction care as a solution to the province’s ongoing #ToxicDrugCrisis.
That #political focus is deeply frustrating for Correne Antrobus of #MomsStopTheHarm, an advocacy group led by families affected by tainted illegal drugs.
https://theijf.org/bc-publicly-funded-addiction-treatment-low-barrier-housing
#BCpoli #Medical #PublicHealth #HarmfulPolicy #Cruelty #HumanRights #MentalHealth #AddictionsStigma #MentalIllnessStigma #BreakTheSitgmas #HelpNotHarm #BCNewDeathParty #BCNDPLegacyoOfDeath #FundMentalWellness #FundSocialHousing #NeverVoteConservative #NeverVoteNeoliberal #BCElection2024 #BCVotes2024 #BCelection #CDNpoli
