B.C. government commits to funding 40 substance-use treatment beds on Vancouver Island

People on Vancouver Island have new support accessing substance-use treatment beds to help their recovery – and the province says it’s working on adding more.

“We are in the depths of a real crisis in our province,” says B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside.

She’s announced the province is committing $8 million in annual funding for 40 substance-use treatment beds on the South and Mid-Island.

They are 15 publicly funded beds at Cedars Recovery in Cobble Hill, 10 at Edgewood Treatment Centre in Nanaimo, five at Homewood Ravensview in North Saanich; and 10 Indigenous-focused beds at Kackaamin Family Development Centre in Port Alberni.

“There are many pathways to addiction and we need there to be many pathways out,” says Whiteside.

Island Health says the beds will provide care closer to home with longer stays and intensive treatment. People can sign up by contacting the health authority’s mental health and substance use service line at 1-888-885-8824.

“It is a much needed enhancement to Island Health’s continuum of services and supports for people with substance use,” says Island Health’s Dana Leik.

A Victoria man who’s been clean for three years also spoke at the announcement. Brian Coyle is an alumni of Cedars Recovery and welcomes the addition of more publicly funded options.

“I’m glad that I took that leap into recovery to give myself a chance to get better because I know there are so many people out there who haven’t had the opportunity or didn’t get to have that opportunity,” says Coyle.

The province says the new options have been coming online since the spring and are already full. It’s working to add more substance-use treatment beds to the system.

New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community in View Royal has an application in – to add a centre for women.

“We know that it’s really important to be providing gender-specific spaces for people to recover,” says Whiteside. “And I’m looking forward to having news for that in the fairly short-term, I think.”

The province anticipates the 40 beds will help roughly 200 people access treatment per year – and the length of treatment will depend on the person and program. They can range from 50 to 90 days – and they’ll have access to virtual after-care for up to a year to support their recovery.