Harbour Grace residents hear details of new addictions centre

People living in the Harbour Grace area have been told more details about an addiction treatment centre expected to open in the Conception Bay town next year. 

About 75 people turned out for a public meeting about the 18-bed facility, which is aimed to address a need for treatment not just in the area, but across Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Eastern Health officials told residents that the centre will help people who currently have to be sent out of the province for treatment. 

"We will be able to very much localize our addictions treatment once this facility is opened," said Beverley Clarke, Eastern Health's vice-president of clinical services. 

The contract to build the facility will be awarded in the coming months. 

Clarke told CBC News that Harbour Grace offers a rural setting that will be helpful for the patients the centre will treat. 

"We wanted to go somewhere we would have a really therapeutic environment," she said in an interview. 

"Harbour Grace is a beautiful town. The facility itself is on the top of a hill, and the view of the ocean is beautiful," said Clarke, adding that the centre will work closely with the hospital in nearby Carbonear. 

The presentation received a generally positive reaction from people in the audience. 

Tammy Bourne, who helps run the U-Turn drop-in centre in Carbonear, said the centre is sorely needed. 

"We have a lot of clients. There's a long waiting list" for other centres," she said. 

"It's great to have something like that close by. To be in Harbour Grace, that would be wonderful."