Addiction services for Indigenous youth set for Vancouver Island

Starting in June, Indigenous youth dealing with addiction will be able to receive culturally specific treatment services on Vancouver Island. 

The Orca Lelum Youth Wellness Centre will open this summer and will serve people aged 12-18, with 20 beds total. 

Half will be for detox and half for a 10-week, live-in healing program.

According to the B.C. government, it will be the first time detox services have been offered specifically to young Indigenous people in the province. 

The centre will be run in Lantzville, north of Nanaimo, under the umbrella of Kw'umut Lelum — an Indigenous organization that provides child and family services to nine First Nations on Vancouver Island. 

Kw'umut Lelum executive director Bill Yoachim said the centre was "long overdue." 

Currently, when his organization sees young people in need of addiction support, it has to send them out of province for treatment.

He said the Orca Lelum treatment program, which is being designed in partnership with Island Health, will combine western medicine and Coast Salish values and teachings — including land-based healing that will get young people on the water and into the mountains. 

"We believe it's going to be a good portion of the treatment: feeling connected and proud of themselves, which, unfortunately, at times, they may not be," said Yoachim. 

There will also be a focus on dealing with trauma, which he said is the root of most addiction.

'Pathway to wellness'

Statistics show Indigenous youth are at a particularly heightened risk from toxic illicit drugs: First Nations people are almost six times more likely than other B.C. residents to die from toxic drugs, while overdoses are the No. 1 cause of death for people aged 10-18.  

B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside said access to culturally informed, local mental health care services is critical for Indigenous youth.

"The outcome that we're looking for here is really just to save lives. To connect kids to a pathway to wellness that will allow them to thrive, to regain control over their life," said Whiteside.

The centre will begin to offer services in June, but won't be fully operational until fall, when all staff have been hired and trained. 

There will be at least 50 staff members, including medical staff, clinical counsellors, and cultural workers.

The province is providing $7 million for the centre, and Island Health has added $1 million.