Red Deer RCMP is now offering those who have been arrested immediate access to opioid addiction treatment.
The local detachment is the latest RCMP detachment to work with the province’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VOPD), which offers same-day opioid addiction treatment to any in need, not just those in custody.
The program has been a life-saver for many after it was offered to those in municipal jails in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and on the Blood Tribe beginning last December. About five rural RCMP detachments also took advantage of the program, which is now offered through more than 30 detachments — Red Deer now among them.
Between January and June, more than 400 people who had come in contact with police were referred to the opioid dependency program for addiction medicine consultation.
Associate minister of mental health and addictions Mike Ellis was in Red Deer on Tuesday to announce the expansion of the program — the first of its kind in Canada — to the local detachment.
“As a former police officer myself, I have seen too many people who are arrested who have the illness of addiction and who just wanted help and we, as police, didn’t have the tools to help them. Now there’s hope,” said Ellis at the downtown RCMP detachment.
“This will give more people an opportunity to access life-saving treatment, pursue recovery from addiction, get their lives back and re-engage with their families and stop the cycle of abuse.
“The reality is that people who commit a crime must still be held accountable for their actions, but we can treat addiction as a health-care issue while keeping our communities safe,” said Ellis.
As part of its effort to help those with addictions, the province has added more than 8,000 new publicly funded treatment spaces and eliminated daily user fees for publicly funded residential addiction treatment. Other initiatives include a nasal naxolone pilot project, expansion of an opioid therapy program and by fully covering the cost of the injectable opioid treatment drug Sublocade.
Dr. Nathaniel Day, VOPD medical director, said the program has roots in Ponoka and most of the nine physicians who are involved are from there. Anyone can access it by calling toll-free to 1-844-383-7688 seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Day said offering VOPD to those who have been arrested is a compassionate way to start them towards a better life.
“People who want treatment should find recovery options wherever they turn,” he said, adding the program has proven track record.
Efforts are also being made to help the homeless, who are not likely to make scheduled appointments and need to be reached in different ways. Pharmacists and others who regularly come in contact with homeless clients provide a link.
“When they connect, we just meet them right then and there and give them the services they need right in that moment instead of booking them an appointment that they’re going to miss.
“Our team is just doing a ton of work to just meet people exactly where they’re at.”
Alberta RCMP Supt. Mike McCauley said VOPD is needed and police officers want to help out.
“Our frontline members know they have to do enforcement, but we’re driven to help people. This is a program that is not just putting handcuffs on someone. It’s taking someone who’s at their worst and giving them a solution.
“The care doesn’t stop there. In our other detachments where this has been up and running our members are approaching people on the street and offering them this program.”
The Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) is another initiative to help those who are addicted. The mobile app can be downloaded free through an app store or at DORSApp.ca.
When using the app, a person will receive a call from the STARS emergency centre if they become unresponsive to a timer. If an overdose is suspected, STARS immediately dispatches emergency medical services to the person’s location. So far, the app has been downloaded more than 1,000 times and has 500 registered users.
Additional support can be found by calling Alberta 211, the Addiction Helpline at 1-866-332-2322 or at recoveryaccessalberta.ca.