Flooding affects women’s addiction treatment facilities

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This article was published 25/07/2019 (2650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba is scrambling to find space for about 30 women who are undergoing treatment after a pipe burst and caused flooding.

Women in residential treatment and employees in corporate offices were forced to move on Sunday. A spokeswoman initially said most of the female in-patients were with family, but when pressed, she confirmed some patients had been taken to a hotel on a temporary basis.

The flooded location houses most of the publicly funded addictions treatment beds for women in Manitoba.

There has been “temporary disruption” in services, spokeswoman Denisa Gavan-Koop said Thursday afternoon.

She said the women were being relocated to other AFM treatment facilities and community spaces. She couldn’t say how many of the 30 women have remained in treatment since the pipe burst.

“We have other treatment facilities that we’ve been in contact with to see if some of the women can be part of those programs, so we have to work in collaboration with them,” she said.

The organization doesn’t know when it will be able to take on new patients.

“The program is not ending, and our top priorities are client safety and providing services and treatment to our patients, our participants,” she said.

The water damage affected the basements of two AFM buildings at 1031 and 1041 Portage Ave. The buildings were also home to AFM’s library and training classes. Now, some staffers are working from home.

“We’re actively looking for space,” said Gavan-Koop, who couldn’t say how many employees are affected.

Workers continued to repair the damage Thursday afternoon, and AFM posted a notice about the water damage on its website.

Gavan-Koop said AFM does have safety protocols in such situations. When asked about the province’s response to a disruption in addictions treatment for women, a spokeswoman for Manitoba Health referred questions to AFM.

In June, Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced the provincial government would spend $985,000 to open 16 additional treatment beds for women. They are expected to be open before the fall.

The funding announcement came in the wake of concerns about the lack of residential treatment options for women who are battling addiction, particularly for meth addiction. Women have sought treatment for meth addiction at a higher rate compared with men, but most of the beds in the province are designated for men.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union said government officials should be upfront about what kind of back-up plans are in place in such cases. MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said she hasn’t been told how many employees or members of the public are affected or what alternative arrangements have been made.

“We wish the government would just come clean and let us know what’s going on, so that we could actually help deal with this issue,” Gawronsky said.

“Addictions and mental-health issues are front and centre right now. AFM and our members that work there, they take their role very seriously… and to not know what’s going to happen tomorrow, for the government to keep this a big secret, I don’t understand what the logic is behind this.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca