Potential recovery centre in Lacombe County moves ahead; residents raise concerns

“a centre for the treatment of persons with addiction, such as but not limited to drugs or alcohol, which may include the provision of services including psychotherapy and the dispensing of medication, but does not include detoxification. This includes providing overnight or short-term accommodation of residents but does not include a detention or correction centre.”

Council stated the types of addictions treated are to be decided by the centre.

“I am of the opinion that recovery centre facilities such as Adeara are desperately needed in all communities. In my mind, I am satisfied that the property in question is suited for the proposed designation and I support the endorsement,” said Councillor John Ireland.

ADEARA RECOVERY CENTRE

Formerly known as the Edmonton Dream Centre, unrelated to the Red Deer or Calgary Dream Centres, Adeara is the only accredited program in the province that helps women recovering from addiction after they have already completed detoxification, while allowing their children to live in the facility.

According to WebMD, detoxification deals with the clearing of the body from drugs and handling withdrawal symptoms. Whereas rehabilitation centres further help addiction treatment following the initial detoxification. Recovery centres take the process one step further, focusing on improving overall health and wellness and successful reintegration in life, according to the Bedrock Recovery Centre.

In what would be named the Lakeside Recovery Centre, the county facility would begin at a 12-women capacity, without children, for a 90-day program based on referral with an application and interview process. The organization states, the women would receive intensive individual counselling, supportive and educational classes encouraging empowerment, group therapy and community support for seven hours a day. A resident couple would be on site 24/7 with two commuting therapists, with only a few weekly guest visiting hours and group activities outside of the house to a nearby Christian church.

Benoit Trudeau, Urban Planning Consultant for Adeara, says the program uses a holistic approach to get women back on their feet, teaching life-skills on how to cook and budget.

“There’s always stigma in our society with addiction, how people see that, but it can be a single mom staying home and drinking her bottle every night to go to bed; that can become an addiction. She’s not a criminal for that; she just needs help to un-root what has been so inside her,” he said.

Trudeau says the location was chosen as the existing building suited the need with its dorms, chapel, and basement for live-in staff. The roughly 10,000 sq. ft. home was built in 2012 as a prayer and conference centre. Adeara and The PAR Foundation acquired the property following the passing of the owner in 2019 and only needs some sewage renovations.

With a peaceful view of the lake at the top of the secluded hill, he says you cannot see the property from any roads and the only driveway is 500 metres long.

Building for potential Lakeside Recovery Centre by Adeara in Lacombe County. (Adeara 2021-2022 Annual Report p. 12)

RESIDENT CONCERNS

A community information meeting was held by the County in February 2022 where locals voiced concerns of the centre’s impact on crime, traffic, and property values.

The Summer Village of Birchcliff hired external consultant CoFutures who produced a report titled “Review and Analysis of Potential Impacts from the Proposed “Sylvan Lake Lakeside Recovery Centre” on the Summer Village of Birchcliff Report” exploring these concerns. The report concluded that the centre would have little to no impact on the issues raised.

Katherina Cummins, a Birchcliff resident, says as the risk of relapse is still present, she worries about potential drug dealers in the area targeting the women as well as posing a risk to the neighbouring Kiwanis Club of Red Deer used by the Girl Guides. According to a 2017 survey by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, 48.8 per cent of respondents relapsed.

“What is an acceptable level of collateral damage here?” she asked. “What if a woman, with these high statistics of relapse, she does get drugs in there and overdoses. The closest hospital is 30 minutes away in Red Deer, it’s not even in the same county; is her death acceptable?”

“If one child finds drugs on the trail from the camp and starts trying drugs?,” she said.

She says Sylvan Lake and other summer villages are known to be party towns relating to drugs, referencing the most recent arresting of a 28-year-old man for various drugs and weapons charges in Jarvis Bay.

READ: Man from Jarvis Bay facing drugs & weapons charges

“The trails from Adeera lead directly to our beach where you can buy drugs and alcohol within minutes,” she said.

Map of where the potential recovery centre would be located in Lacombe County. (CoFutures Review and Analysis of Potential Impacts from the Proposed “Sylvan Lake Lakeside Recovery Centre” on the Summer Village of Birchcliff Report March 2022 p. 12)

She also expressed concern that some women will be entering the program straight from the drug court system rather than doing jail time.

Adeara’s Executive Director Lori Patrick says that although this is true, the women coming from the drug court system only have charges relating to drugs, not violent or assault related, are referred by the judge and go through multiple screenings.

According to the centre’s 2021-2022 Annual Report, 92 women applied for the program and 11 were accepted.

“It’s an opportunity for them to actually find recovery and find change and rehabilitation through a program versus just sitting in a jail cell. In fact, it costs less to come through a program like Adeara than it is sitting in jail and doing your time,” she said.

Cummins says she is not against a recovery centre as she has seen the implications of drug use from her downtown business property in Red Deer. On the corner of 50 Ave and 46 St, she is near the Methadone and Harm Reduction Program Centres, which she says have rendered her building undesirable.

She says the County’s recovery centre should be in a high traffic area, similar to Adeara’s Edmonton location, near a highway in case of emergency or near a police station.

Trudeau says a camera system would be installed at the location as it is in Edmonton, with someone awake at all times to ensure safety.

Councillor Ken Weenick said as many residents do not want the centre in their backyard, the isolated location is suitable.

“We also have to keep in mind that us, as a society, have to embrace when we make errors like addiction. We let drugs into our country, so we have to embrace that too. We have to give society, and the people that get addicted, some place to go to get help,” he said.

This isn’t the only isolated addictions related centre in the county. Council discussed on Thursday the impact of the iRecover drug and addiction detox and rehabilitation treatment centre in Tees (41003 Range Rd) for men and women. With Reeve Barbara Shepherd on multiple police committees, she says she had not heard of any issues relating to the centre, even with the address publicly shared.

Adeara’s Edmonton address is not made public on their website; however, Trudeau says they have not had any issues since opening in 1998, with many in the area unaware that the building houses a recovery centre.

Councillor Brenda Knight, from Division 2 where the iRecover centre is located, says the centre had a few “hiccups” when it first opened; however, they were in relation to the detoxification aspect of the program and have since been resolved through public consultation.

On the other hand, Sylvan Laker Wendy Sauvageau, present at the council meeting, believes the iRecover centre has caused fewer issues due to its isolation from towns. She said the Adeara location would be too close to summer villages and expressed that the building should be used for other types of centres.

“There are recovery centres that you could use for women that have cancer, they have a death in the family, they’ve just gone through a traumatic divorce, they could be battered women,” she said. “Why not invest in that?”

FUTURE PLANS: 80 RESIDENTIAL UNITS

Both Cummins and Sauvageau spoke against the lack of public sharing regarding Adeara’s potential future plans for the location to add 80 residential cabins on the property.

According to the CoFutures report, future proposed development includes one hectare of land per cabin to house program alumni or to sell to the public. However, the report states the plans are not in the near future.

Trudeau says as those plans would also affect various Area Structure Plans already in place, consultation would be necessary with the public and nearby development projects.

Benoit Trudeau, Urban Planning Consultant for Adeara Recovery Centre, at the Lacombe County council meeting on Oct. 24. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

He says, however, that building a community is beneficial for the women receiving treatment. He claims alumni have moved to residential units nearby their Edmonton location to maintain close contact with staff and reduce their risk of relapse as a result.

Adeara must now apply for a development permit where residents will have a chance to share their thoughts and make an appeal.

Adeara will be hosting an Evening of Dreams Gala on November 4 at the Delta Hotel South Edmonton Conference Centre (4404 Gateway Blvd). Trudeau said all are welcome to come share their opinion on the new potential location.

by Alessia Proietti

Potential recovery centre in Lacombe County moves ahead; residents raise concerns

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