Former night club could become residential treatment centre

Giesbrecht agrees that as far as the downtown and Red Deer’s drug crisis are concerned, something’s got to give.

“The drug crisis is what keeps people homeless, and once we address that, we’ll start to see our homeless rates drop,” he believes. “We’ve got to a point where as far as the opioid crisis, the drug overdoses, the ambulance visits, and the death rate are concerned — when you look at the stats, we’re not doing hot.”

The building, which is across the street from the RCMP detachment, has played host to several church services since being purchased.

“The Calgary Dream Centre is the model we’ve chosen to follow, and they address three very distinct components of addiction: the physical component, the mental component, and then the spiritual component. To address all three is necessary to see people recover,” he says.

As well, Giesbrecht strongly praises the work of existing non-profits in Red Deer, such as Turning Point, Safe Harbour, and The Mustard Seed.

“They are doing a tremendous job. We have some of the best people in those positions that are out there,” he says. “When you talk to the people who see this on a daily basis, they’re frustrated, and they see people that want to get out of this lifestyle.”

With a vision to add a third and possibly fourth floor to the building to create room for 20-40 beds, and with an estimated price tag of $1.5-2 million, the goal is a lofty one, but one that can be reached according to City Councillor Ken Johnston, who recently toured the Dream Centre in Calgary alongside Giesbrecht.

“If a local group can marshal the resources that we’ve been looking for, and from the private sector, come up with a sustainable operating model, they’re going to fulfill a need in our city that has been apparent for 10-12 years now,” says Johnston, who was joined by fellow councillors on the trip.

“I thought ‘Am I going to see a run-down place, or am I going to see people sitting on the sidewalk,’ but we had trouble finding it because it looked pristine. The place is tidy, the parking lot is beautiful, it’s professional-looking. We all came out of there with a good sense that a premises done well is not going to be an impediment to public safety or to business.”

Meanwhile, Turning Executive Director Stacey Carmichael says any additional services to help people with substance use will be welcomed, and she believes the group of business people is doing its due diligence.

“We do have excellent treatment options in our community already, options that are best practice for treating people with opioid dependency,” she says, acknowledging that none of them are residential treatment.

“It starts at Safe Harbour with their medical detox and the suboxone replacement therapies, it can start at supervised consumption or in your living room if you want to make a call to the formerly named Rural Opioid Dependency Program (now Virtual Opioid Dependency Program).”

No matter the timeline, or the municipal red tape which Giesbrecht et al may have to go through in terms of getting a development permit, he believes this could be a new beginning for the city and its downtown.

“This is a community that when they get behind this, this is what’s going to change Red Deer. I’d be crazy to say that this will be a quick fix, and it’s going to be a ton of work,” he says.

“The Calgary Dream Centre has 64 people on staff and a budget of about $6.5 million. It’s huge. At the end of the day, the mandate is you love God, you love others, you don’t have to clean up or look pretty, we just want to love you where you are and help you get better. That’s our heartbeat.”

Giesbrecht and his fellow business partners will be holding an open house at the end of the month to allow the public to learn more about the proposal. A date is yet to be determined.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Former night club could become residential treatment centre

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