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By Alessia Proietti

Notice of Motion read

Mayor Ken Johnston pursues goal of Red Deer becoming leader in addictions recovery

Sep 27, 2022 | 3:28 PM

Mayor Ken Johnston is spearheading the goal for Red Deer to one day become the leader in addictions recovery.

The mayor read a notice of motion titled “Building Red Deer as a Recovery Community” at Monday’s meeting, to be further discussed at their next meeting on October 11.

“What I want for Red Deer is to become a leader in recovery. I want us to be a trendsetter. I want us to be able to be a city that focuses on hope; that focuses on restoration; that focuses on the ability of a person to be all they can be,” he said.

Mayor Johnston says it was the perfect time to bring forward a motion relating to recovery. Apart from Red Deer’s 10^th Recovery Day on September 10 led by addictions-survivor Krista Black, the Government of Alberta also updated their report “Toward an Alberta Model of Wellness” this March, adding $60 million in addiction and mental health supports.

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He says not only does the “non-political” report provide a framework for what he deems is a public health issue, but it aligns with various current municipal policies like the Drug & Alcohol Strategy, the Community Safety Strategy, the Community Housing Integration Plan, and the Community Policing Strategy.

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The mayor states that actions following the motion may include exploring how recovery is introduced in the community, how people are invited into the possibility of recovery, and how funding is divided, among other steps. He also says he hopes to organize a Recovery Summit by the end of November, bringing together experts and survivors, similar to the primarily Indigenous Wellbriety conference that took place over the weekend at the Cambridge Hotel.

READ: First Wellbriety conference outside the U.S. coming to Red Deer

“We want those conversations to start turning into the practicalities of how do we deliver recovery into our city,” he said.

“It’s time to remove the stigma from people around if you are burdened by an addiction. Let’s get the stigma and the feeling that you’re somehow less than someone that’s quote-unquote ‘normal’ and let’s really offer restoration and hope.”

When asked how the focus on recovery ties in with Red Deer’s controversial Overdose Prevention Site (5246 53 Ave.), the mayor responded that harm reduction is just one aspect of the recovery fabric as, according to the Turning Point Society, most overdose-related deaths are still occurring in private neighborhood homes.

Apart from the addition of the Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) application and the provincial Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VOPD), Mayor Johnston says he hopes this motion can help individuals further.

READ: Province encouraged by falling opioid deaths, while Red Deer matches four-year high

In his conversation with Black, the mayor added recovery must be looked at in a broader context, as addictions are not only related to alcohol, drugs or gambling but can stem from compulsive disorders, such as eating disorders, and other causes that morph into forms of addictions.

“We are going to make recovery as part of our cultural framework, as part of our city’s identity. As really, I think, hope for people to say ‘I can now purse recovery in a city that embraces it as a way to achieve potential’. That is my vision for that,” he said.