Dear Editor:
In response to your Dec. 5 story, Recovery Centre to Get Petition Vote, I write this letter in support of opening an alcohol recovery centre in North Vancouver.
I live in North Vancouver and have been working for the last 30 years in mental health and addiction at St. Paul's Hospital. There are multiple barriers to getting alcohol treatment for both men and women that include wait-lists and lengthy paperwork. Even if there is readiness to change, so many obstacles stand in the way of recovery. I find myself feeling frustrated with the system in place.
Addiction is a progressive disease which, left untreated, culminates in loss of family, loss of self and predictably leads to jail, institutionalization or death. Many of the people I treat in my profession have come from good neighborhoods and have drifted to the Downtown Eastside. We on the North Shore need options for our loved ones in our own neighborhood. There are excellent private treatment centres that guide families through every step of the way and where help can be attained for the fortunate. These can be expensive and not everyone can afford this option, in fact most can't. I think it's time to establish more centres outside of the Downtown Eastside.
I really question the rhetoric in the story about the use of public land for private interest. To me, this feels more like stigma. The emails mentioned from children who are fearful their park will be taken away rouse suspicion. Who are these children? I don't know any children who would email a councillor concerning local parks. Perhaps older fingers are tapping those keys?
I think the North Shore is a beautiful place to live. I feel blessed with all the parks and trails that are available here in North Vancouver, but our parks are never as important to us as the people that fill them. Let's not forget to take care of our loved ones. I fully support an alcohol recovery centre for women and hope eventually for another for men.
Maureen Roper North Vancouver
