Lorne Mayencourt, right, chats with peer support worker Bob Marwick outside two of the buildings Dec. 27, 2007, that are part of the rehabilitation centre at former Canadian Forces Base Baldy Hughes 40 km southwest of Prince George.Globe files
The province has taken over day-to-day operations of a Prince George addiction treatment centre after the facility ran into financial and management problems.
The change was made at the request of the board of directors of the B.C. New Hope Recovery Society, which operates the Baldy Hughes Addiction Treatment Centre and Therapeutic Community on the site of a former military base near Prince George.
The request was made "to further develop and improve on [the centre's]treatment model and to build a solid foundation with a view to expand the centre's operations," BC Housing said in a recent statement.
The province had taken a step toward greater control last December, when it announced it was purchasing the 26-hectare Baldy Hughes property for $3-million and providing $277,000 in annual operating funds through BC Housing.
In taking on day-to-day management, the province aims to stabilize operations at the centre, where there has been some staff turnover in recent months.
"While the current treatment and recovery programs are proving successful, the board believes additional operations support can help staff develop an even stronger treatment model to ensure the centre can fulfill its mandate," BC Housing said in its July 8 statement.
B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman was not immediately available to comment.
The board of directors of New Hope support the changes, BC Housing spokesman Sam Rainboth said Tuesday, and former director Brian Fehr is rejoining the board.
Mr. Fehr, who served on the board from its startup in 2007 until the end of 2008, has "deep roots in the Prince George area," the spokesman said.
Some critics have said the facility has not had enough local involvement at the board level.
With the turnover, BC Housing staff from the Prince George office will oversee daily operations.
BC Housing staff will be "consulting with addictions, mental health and treatment program advisers to evaluate current practices and to develop a solid treatment model, building a solid foundation for future growth," Mr. Rainboth said.
The facility, spearheaded by former Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt and opened in 2007, is modelled on a therapeutic community in San Patrignano, Italy, and offers a long-term program - typically one year - that takes an abstinence-based approach and also involves various therapies, including art and work therapy.
According to a recent report in the Prince George Citizen, the number of residents at the facility has dropped from 65 to 48 since March, and five Prince George residents resigned from the board between November, 2008, and March, 2011.
According to the facility's website, the centre is named for "Baldy" Hughes, who ran a remount station for the stage line that travelled the old Cariboo Wagon Road in the 1860s.
Wendy Stueck