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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Four Pillars

Mental Health and Addiction minister shares vision after receiving mandate letter

Nov 17, 2022 | 5:19 PM

Alberta’s new Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Nicholas Milliken, says the UCP government’s recovery-oriented system of care (ROSC) encompasses all four pillars of addressing addictions — harm reduction, prevention, recovery and enforcement.

Milliken spoke to rdnewsNOW Thursday, a day after his mandate letter from Premier Danielle Smith was released.

Among other things, Smith directs Milliken to develop the ROSC further, and expand access for young people struggling with severe mental illness.

“To say we have a recovery-only system sounds to me like a lack of understanding of the continuum of services a recovery-oriented system of care truly provides. This system has full integration with regards to comprehensive services,” he says.

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“Those out there helping people who are addicted, my expectation is that what they’re doing is included in that full continuum of services we offer.”

On Thursday, Friends of Medicare (FoM) called it a “recovery-only” approach, adding that it continues to fail the province, with many Albertans still dying from drug overdoses.

“In the face of such tragedy, it has become all the more urgent that Alberta must act decisively to save lives, by supporting evidence-based harm reduction efforts like supervised consumption services, safe supply and by moving forward with decriminalization,” writes Chris Gallaway, FoM executive director.

But Milliken says things like supervised consumption services — or in Red Deer’s case an overdose prevention site (OPS) — will continue to be part of the system.

“It’s definitely part of the continuum of services we offer, have offered and will continue to offer,” Milliken insists.

“I think something people are sometimes surprised about is we’ve not only maintained funding for harm reduction supports including for things like supervised consumption, we’ve increased funding since 2019.”

New numbers on the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System show Red Deer had 31 opioid-caused overdose deaths from January to July 2022, up from 25 in the same six-month span of 2021.

Milliken notes strong belief in what the province has done already with the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program.

He also admits that Red Deer’s issues are the reason why it’ll the be the first of six communities to have a recovery community open, in Red Deer’s case at the north end of the city.

That facility is now expected to welcome its first clients in late December or early January, with an operator still to be announced.

But what about stigma, and how it hampers the ability to tackle mental health and addiction, Milliken was asked.

“Stigma is something that comes up often, even in meetings I have. Reducing stigma can lead toward opportunities to intervene and ensure people can get treatment,” he says. “There’s also stigma for individuals within recovery and sometimes how they are viewed by employers.”

Milliken hopes the recovery communities will offer clients the chance to get help closer to home.”

“It hits the nail on the head to say that if you have someone in addiction and who manages to find a pathway to a healthier life, [currently] they’re often coming from outside of where they’re getting that treatment,” he explains. “So if they go back and surround themselves with the same environment as before, that can be unhelpful.”

As for mental health specifically, Milliken points to $42 million announced this past summer to bolster access to mental health supports in schools.