Recovery advocates meet in Saskatchewan to address addiction crisis

The province’s Recovery Summit unites communities to improve the addiction crisis in Sask. Damian Smith reports.

For the past 11 years, Melanie Brown has been in stable recovery from an eating disorder and substance use challenges. Now chief administrative officer of Prairie Sky Recovery Centre, she is continuing the work her mother began at the facility in 2008. The centre was formerly known as Leipzig Serenity Retreat.

Brown says the facility is seeing an increase in clients seeking treatment for alcohol and substance use, particularly among people working long hours in high-pressure industries.

“The trades, the farming community, oil and gas — they have huge pressures in their workplaces, and I think that’s become apparent as a cause for addiction,” she said.

Brown was one of many social workers attending the Saskatchewan Recovery Summit, where participants discussed ways to improve treatment and recovery supports for alcohol, methamphetamine and opioid use.

“Even though it’s not rising, the consequence of alcohol use still kills more people today than opioids do,” said Nathaniel Day, chief scientific officer with the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence. Day spoke at the summit about compassionate intervention and emerging concerns.. “A non-substance related addictive problem, something that’s on the rise and is worth paying attention to is gambling and especially how online gambling has become so accessible.”

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On Feb. 10, the Saskatchewan government pledged $863,000 to support sober living initiatives as part of its mental health and addictions strategy, which includes a commitment to provide 500 treatment spaces by 2028.

“Substances are much more harmful to these individuals,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr. “The average 28-day program isn’t going to work any longer, so the treatment spaces we have available are tailored to the individual and how long they need to be there to get the help they need.”

Online gambling remains a concern across Canada, particularly among young adults. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, 23.5 per cent of young adults report experiencing harm related to online gambling.

“There’s a threshold where if you gamble over a certain percentage of your income, you’re likely to have social harm,” said Day. “So you’re likely to lose your house or have conflict with your loved ones, maybe you have the breakup of a relationship and sort of have your life destroyed.”

Brown said the fentanyl crisis continues to affect clients, but behavioural addictions are also increasing due to easy online access.

“We’re seeing a lot of gambling clients. Pornography is very accessible. All of these things can come right to your phone,” she said. “The cure to addiction is connection,” she said. “If people are isolated and feeling alone, they’re going to struggle more.”