The province is providing the Comox Valley Transition Society with $300,000 to convert two beds from private to publicly funded — which will make treatment more accessible to a greater number of people.
The beds are located at Amethyst House, a women’s residential recovery centre in Courtenay that offers withdrawal management and supportive recovery. The CVTS partners with Island Health to provide the service, which includes a structured program with professional staff. Women can stay up to 90 days.
READ: Amethyst House helps healing happen
“It’s going to be very, very helpful,” CVTS executive director Heather Ney said. “But that’s $300,000 over three years.”
Until now, private-pay beds at Amethyst House have not been utilized to their fullest extent. Publicly funded beds will help those who cannot afford the private fee of $150 per day.
Access to the other 10 publicly funded beds at Amethyst House is through mental health and substance use, Ney added. This stipulation can eliminate other people from accessing beds, such as those who come from corrections out-of-town.
“So this opens the door for a few other populations,” Ney said.
The beds are part of $13 million government announced last fall, supporting more than 100 beds B.C.-wide in an effort to address the overdose crisis.
“Having access to a treatment bed at the right time can be critical for people looking for help with substance use and other challenges,” Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard said.