Interior Health region in 'dire' need of addiction treatment beds for youth, non-profit says

A Central Okanagan non-profit organization is concerned the province's commitment to fund more treatment beds for young people struggling with substance use won't meet the needs of the region.

The province pledged Thursday to spend $36 million to create another 123 beds for young people aged 12 to 24 in drug addiction and detox management programs by 2022.

This is in addition to the current 143 treatment beds in B.C.

Celine Thompson, executive director of The Bridge Youth and Family Services based in Kelowna, said the demand for youth addiction treatment beds is "dire" in the Interior Health region.

"We have zero beds for young people under the age of 17 in this entire health authority," Thompson told Chris Walker, host of CBC's Daybreak South.

"That means that we need to send these young people away for treatment. And it also means that oftentimes they're waiting in excess of a year."

Thompson said 16 to 20 of the 123 new beds should be given to Interior Health, but she doesn't know how many will eventually land in the region.

B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy said she will need to hear from the health authorities about the wait lists of young people with addictions before deciding where the new treatment beds will go.

"It really is the health authority they need to be speaking with," she told Daybreak South.

Thompson said ages 12 to 24 is a crucial time for youth struggling with substance abuse. 

"If you have the opportunity to engage with young people when the addiction is starting, you'll have a much higher degree of success," she said. 

Click to listen to Celine Thompson's interview on Daybreak South: