Construction of Prince Edward Island’s first Youth Recovery Centre will be complete in April, says Minister of Health and Wellness Doug Currie.
Minister Currie toured the facility this week and was updated on the progress.
“I left the centre feeling very encouraged that Island youth and families will soon have a whole new level of addictions service and more hope for recovery,” said Minister Currie. “We are just weeks away from operationalizing our first dedicated youth addictions centre and a suite of open-ended programs that will respond to the specific needs of the youth and the family. There is no doubt that this modern facility and excellent programming will give us a far better chance of addressing the changing face of addictions in our province.”
The Youth Recovery Centre will have 12 inpatient beds and offer 18 weeks of around-the-clock care, up from the existing six beds and eight-week day treatment program. Community-based after care programs will also increase from 20 weeks to up to 24 weeks.
The Centre will be located at the former Youth Offenders Centre in Summerside. Through an investment of $800,000, construction began last fall on a separate entrance, classrooms, counseling offices, and space for residential and day treatment programs.
“The renovations to this space are an important step forward to being able to expand both our residential and aftercare addictions services,” said Sean Morrison, Strength Program Manager. “We are very pleased with the progress so far and look forward to being able to relocate the Strength Program to this redesigned facility with all our operations under one roof in the near future.”
Services at the Centre will be delivered by approximately 40 full and part-time staff. “I am very impressed by the amount of work the staff has done in a very short time and the quality of the programs they have developed,” Minister Currie said. “The new environment will be a change but I have every confidence in their leadership.”
The Youth Recovery Centre is part of a $9 million investment announced in 2014 by the provincial government to increase access to youth addictions and mental health treatment in Prince Edward Island.