“we have moms and women who want to go through the program so they can be reunified with their children,” she said.
the recovery program lasts six to 12 months and women who successfully complete it have the opportunity to move into aftercare housing for up to five years, mucci said.
she is encouraged by the province’s announcement, but would like to see more recovery and treatment options for new moms struggling with addiction.
“we definitely do have more need in b.c., in particular for women who would like to enter recovery and for moms especially, because there hasn’t been a whole lot (of options),” she said.
b.c. green party leader sonia furstenau said given the dramatic increase in homelessness as a result of the housing crisis, 15 beds “is clearly not enough.”
she would have liked to see the b.c. ndp government increase funding to social service agencies that are already helping vulnerable parents, such as the lelum ‘u tu s’tsa’-elh teyt-en, the house of honourable mothers, in her cowichan valley riding.
“the need is far greater than what’s available,” furstenau said. “this is a crisis, and 15 beds is nowhere near going to solve that.”
the minister of mental health and addictions, jennifer whiteside, acknowledged that 15 beds is just a start, but said the government will consider adding more services once it evaluates the impact of the pilot project, including whether it reduces the time spent in hospital and improves the parents’ physical and mental well-being.