There is nothing within the proposed plan to develop a senior women’s addiction treatment centre on Meadowview Lane worthy of concern to the community. Given the need for such facilities and Poundmaker’s positive record at its Lodge Treatment Centre just outside Campbell Business Park, there is little reason for council or nearby residents to worry.
Yet some still do, as is the case with almost any addiction treatment facility proposed in any municipality. Potential neighbours become concerned about unruly behaviour on the part of facility patients that could put them or their neighbours at risk or devalue their property. Those fears are unfounded in this instance and a hindrance to a necessary service that needs a home.
The treatment centre would house between six and 20 women over the age of 50 who are facing challenges with alcohol, drugs or gambling. The site previously was a two-hectare retreat used by Oblate priests, who have since leased the land to Poundmaker’s. Those seeking treatment will have already gone through a detoxification process before they are admitted for a 42-day recovery program. All patients will be supervised around the clock with no one allowed to leave the property without escort.
Poundmaker’s has an unblemished reputation of providing addiction services to both aboriginal and non-aboriginal persons in the 37 years it has been an operation. The only exception would be the arson of the former residential school site back in July 2000, a situation unrelated to Poundmaker’s addictions treatment program. A man and a youth from Edmonton were arrested in connection to the fire, but the charges were later stayed. Few mourned its destruction, given the treatment many residential school survivors remembered suffering there.
Otherwise, Poundmaker’s has a rich tradition of not only providing addictions recovery, but also hosting other significant First Nations events, such as powwows. The Michif Institute is also hoping to use some of the space on Meadowview Lane for research and genealogy purposes to teach clients of their aboriginal culture, a significant part of the recovery process at the proposed treatment centre. If neighbours need any more reassurance their daily lives will not be disrupted, they can simply look at the thick ring of trees bordering the lot.
The program is being designed to reach out to an underserviced group when it comes to battling addiction. There are other treatment centres in the Capital region — including Poundmaker’s — but few help a specific group such as women over 50. With Poundmaker’s in our midst, as well as dozens of other organizations that operate specifically to help those in need, adding a facility such as this only increases St. Albert’s profile as a kind, caring community that looks out for its residents. The challenges potential clients face when they begin the detoxification process are significant so why, instead of offering them a place they can go to heal, would others instead seek to put roadblocks in their way?
It is highly unlikely this new facility will become some sort of neighbourhood eyesore, both physically and socially. It is a place of spiritual transformation and personal healing. In five years, when the Timberlea development hopefully gets under way, the treatment centre might very well have to find a new home. The Oblates have said they would sell the land when the subdivision begins construction. But if in that timeframe Poundmaker’s can help several hundred women transition from a life of dependency to a life of freedom, it will have more than served its purpose.
There is no reason to oppose this development. On Dec. 20, when the matter returns for third reading, we hope council sees the greater good this idea represents. In time, we hope its neighbours can see that too.
