A little-known North Vancouver group home is facing closure next month, raising concerns among advocates for the welfare of its troubled residents.
Goodman House, a five-bed facility run by the Canadian Mental Health Association on East Keith Road, has helped scores of clients to get back on their feet since it opened a little more than six years ago, according to staff. The home offers a "concurrent" treatment program, meaning it helps residents tackle mental health and addiction issues simultaneously - a service that is in short supply in the Lower Mainland. But the CMHA says it will be shutting down the facility in May, citing concerns with its administration.
The move could leave some of the North Shore's most marginalized residents out in the cold, said Daryl Morgan, who has worked at the home for four years.
"It's going to take a concerted effort to find appropriate accommodation for the clients," he said. "Their anxiety level is fairly high; they're asking: 'What's going to happen with us?'"
Founded with a $100,000 bequest and supported on an ongoing basis by Vancouver Coastal Health, Morgan House treats up to five men at a time for roughly threemonth periods. It aims not only to help them come to terms with their mental health and addiction issues, but also to learn skills that will help them function in daily life.
"It gives them a secure, safe environment in which they can get their lives on track," said Morgan. "It creates a sense of community, a sense of home they haven't had for many, many years."
The skills the men learn at the house are vital, said Luc Gervais, a social worker who did his practicum at Goodman House, and who volunteered there regularly until recently.
"(Staff) teach them step by step how to look after themselves, and the guys support each other one on one," he said. "How to fill out a resumé, how to use a computer, how to look after their health - I've seen quite a few of them end up having their own apartments and living on their own."
Other facilities offer treatment for addiction or for mental illness, but few do both at once, said Morgan. While the CMHA has pledged to find accommodations for current clients, it seems unlikely alternative settings will accomplish the same thing, he said.
The home's closure will also have an impact on former clients out in the community who often stop in for a meal or just to enjoy a supportive environment.
"What's going to be there for (them) once this house is closed?" he asked. "We're not sure if it's going to close and reopen under (new management). We're really not sure what it's going to look like."
Gervais said the uncertainty is taking a toll on clients already. "They're just despondent about what's happening," he said. "They don't know what their next move is going to be,"
But CMHA chairwoman Ann-Margaret Tait said the closure is a necessary step to ensure residents get the best possible treatment
"We have not been happy with how the service has been accomplished," said Tait. "We put some things in place to try and resolve those problems, but we weren't able to, so we felt the best decision was to close it to make sure people were getting the service they should be getting. . . . We're working with families to make sure people get placed into the right homes and so on."
It's unclear at this point what will happen to the facility in the long run, but the association is looking to house another program of some kind there in the future - likely something similar, said Tait.
As to what exactly the problems were, she didn't say. "It was strictly related to this house and the way the service is being provided there," she said. "We weren't able to make enough changes to suit the metrics we set up."
Morgan didn't have a clear answer either.
"There were never any specifics as to what it was that we were doing wrong," he said. "I would certainly like to have some clarity as to what the core issues were."
Regardless, the outlook is bleak, he said. "It's one less resource, and the North Shore has so very little."
