New Phase for Baldy Hughes
Scenes from Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community – photo courtesy Baldy Hughes
Prince George, B.C.- The Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community has taken another step forward.
With $1 million dollars in funding from the Provincial Government, the treatment centre for men with addictions has been able to expand its capacity and hire three registered nurses and an occupational therapist.
The funding will support an extra 20 beds at the long term addictions treatment centre which is located on the former Baldy Hughes base west of Prince George. “In 1892, this site was used as a place where stage coaches could get fresh horses” says Kevin England, Chair of the BC New Hope Recovery Society that runs the site. “That seems most appropriate when I think this place is now for men who need ‘fresh horses’ a ‘fresh start’.”
(at right, MLA’s John Rustad and Shirley Bond accept commemorative posters from Roger Travale on left, and Kevin England on the right – photo 250News)
The community first opened in December of 2007. While initially it accepted men and women, that mix didn’t work out, and the facility was changed to accept male applicants only. Over the past eight years, the centre has added a bio energy facility for heating, and has added farm animals to the site making it a full working farm as well.
Residents of Baldy Hughes are expected to stay one year in order to treat their addictions and get their lives back on track. A study by UNBC indicates that one year after leaving the community, 65% of the residents remain clean and sober. That is a better success rate than what is referred to as the “spin cycle” where those battling addictions are in and out of short term rehab centres.
Baldy Hughes Executive Director Roger Travale says the therapeutic community has had to decline applications from men who had complex issues, such as addictions plus previously diagnosed health concerns. With registered nurses on site and available 24/7, those types of applications can now be accepted.
The Therapeutic community model was one promoted by former MLA Lorne Mayencourt who witnessed a therapeutic community in Italy. Mayencourt says there are still hopes to build a similar facility for women “I think the time has come to set up a model like this for women, Our Board ( the BC New Hope Recovery Society) has set aside $30 thousand dollars for a women’s centre, just to start a business plan on it, so we said, we know it takes time to organize it, so we’ve put a bit of money there to help whoever builds a women’s centre we want to help them.”
There is no site selected for a women’s therapeutic community however , Mayencourt says “I know the Province wants to build something for women, I know we want to help them when they do that, I don’t know where it will be, but we want to make sure wherever we go that we are welcome.”
Comments
“Residents of Baldy Hughes are expected to stay one year in order to treat their addictions and get their lives back on track.”
I’ve heard that they don’t use the 12 steps in their therapy, and that after 3 months at the centre there doesn’t seem much else to do other than work on the farm. Three registered nurses are fine, but what do they know about addictions?
to the comments above, I am pretty sure, that the nurses that were hired has experience with detox.
The issue with most of the 12 step process is too much religion based solutions, thus with changing time, I am pretty sure they have chosen to find different ways than 12 step process.
I believe that they voluntarily stay there. Nobody is detained against their will. I believe it is not an inprisionment.
A 65% rate is extremely high. In fact it is better than some of the longest established treatment centers in North America. Personally I would say the number is bogus.
It very hard to get a good determination of how people are faring after treatment. If you phone them they could be blasted and still say they are doing just fine. So I would take that number with a grain of salt.
The average in North America is 50% but again it depends on what you consider as a success. Total abstinence could drop the number to as low as 15-25%.
Wow! That is only $50,000 a bed! Yikes, mattresses must be pretty expensive.
It is also interesting that the Haldi experiment seems to have morphed into this New Hope Recovery Society. But, these proponents are talking about a Business Plan! How about that? It is interesting to note that a new bed at Baldy will cost nearly twice the amount that a Business Plan would cost for a ‘new’ women’s centre.
So, is BH a success? Only in eating up a lot of taxpayer money, I would say.
My understanding is that this treatment facility is one of the better ones in the province with higher than average success rates personally to me that is a good news story however once those patients leave the facility after treatment is done it is up to them to keep it up there are services that are there as are the programs to help them keep clean and keep them sane but it is up to that patient to decide what they do once released from the facility.
They can be forced into the program through court order but I doubt that happens much my understanding is they are referred usually by a doctor and have to agree of their own free will to participate in the program. Nobody is forced to participate as far as I know.
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