Red Deer Dream Centre is slowly helping to fill the need for addiction treatment in Alberta.
The 40-bed Christian-based facility for men opened at the former Lotus nightclub in early November and currently has eight clients.
Wes Giesbrecht, president of the centre’s board of directors, said clients are not just from Red Deer and the surrounding area.
“What we’re finding is that we’re servicing right up to Fort McMurray and down to Lethbridge. It’s very difficult to find beds that are available,” Giesbrecht said.
He said for some guys it’s their first time at a treatment centre, while others have attempted treatment before. A couple of clients have already left because they just weren’t ready.
“What we’re finding is that individuals who want to be there, that want to come, that want to get help are committing to the program and committing to the process and we’re seeing some good success.”
Related:
Red Deer addiction recovery centre taking first clients this week
Clients can stay up to 12 months to access programs designed to address the physical, emotional, and mental side of addiction, as well as offer spiritual support.
He said many moms, dads and spouses have been calling who desperately want to help their loved ones. But like any organization, the centre needs to grow in stages. The maximum number of clients staff can handle right now is eight to 10.
“It’s been going really well,” Giesbrecht said.
“Right now we’re not at capacity. We can take more, but we want to do it carefully. You have to do it methodically.”
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About $1.4 million was raised in capital funding for renovations to the site, located at 4614 50 Ave.
He said the centre received a one-time grant of $125,000 from the provincial government’s Civil Society Fund for operations, but the centre is mostly privately funded.
Giesbrecht said the cost of treatment is heavily subsidized for most clients so fundraising will continue to be important and the centre recently started the coffee company DC Brew to help offset costs.
Coffee beans are roasted locally and packaged by clients. One pound of coffee sells for $20 with $10 from each package sold going to help fund the centre.
“As of yesterday we’ve sold 120 pounds of coffee and it’s been available for two weeks.”
To order visit www.rddc.ca.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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