Staff from a recovery centre located in Esk’et (also known as Alkali Lake) are spreading the word about the facility.
A presentation at the April 16 Williams Lake regular city council meeting educated council on the Letwilc Ren Semec recovery centre and how it supports clients on their path to recovery.
Laurie Brown, Letwilc manager and Judy Ventry, Esketemc health director, both spoke on the facility, which has been in operation since 2018.
Brown manages the five-bedroom centre and the staff, all there to support people after intensive treatment, detox or relapse from drugs or alcohol and clients can stay for up to six months at the facility as they get back on their feet.
She gave a short presentation about how the centre operates and said it is funded by Interior Health and the First Nations Health Authority. Anyone can access the facility if there is space, it is not limited to Indigenous clients, and Interior Health can hold clients for the detox period of their recovery. Brown said the programs are built around the needs of the individuals to best support them.
“There is help out there, there is funding and there’s ways to get them in there,” said Brown. She said Nenqayni Wellness Centre is the nearest treatment centre in the area, located just north of Williams Lake.
Brown also showed a brief video on the centre.
The facility was not full, with one bed available when Brown was presenting to council, and she said she actively goes out in the community to talk to people and to try and let people know it is available for people to access.
“I listened to the last meeting about resources being needed and I felt that it was important to reach out as this resource for recovery is here and I would like the community to know about it,” said Brown.
Council was happy to receive the presentation and information on the recovery house and discussed ways to help share out the information with the community and service providers, including offering to put the video she shared on the city website.
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