Lethbridge Recovery Community set to open later this year

Currently, Fresh Start runs recovery centres in both Calgary and Lethbridge. The existing 25-bed Lethbridge site offers services for both men and women. With the new centre set to open later this year, the existing site will transition to a female-only facility.

Executive Director of Fresh Start, Bruce Holstead, said the 50 treatment beds should make a world of difference for those needing assistance. He noted that Fresh Start will take a holistic approach to providing services to those struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

The kitchen/dining area at the Lethbridge Recovery Community, April 28, 2023. (Photo: S. Jones | LNN)

Holstead explained, “Fresh Start is a 12-step abstinence-based program. However, there is a lot of pieces that go into treating people that come with various traumas and levels of need, so it will be a very client-centric approach to treatment based on their needs.”

He added that Fresh Start recognizes “the need for physical, mental, emotional [and] spiritual pieces, so this building has that built in and we’re able to address all those pieces, creating that holistic approach to treatment.”

Holstead noted that clients will be able to live at the site for upwards of a year and will take on responsibilities such as washing sheets, cutting grass, and cooking dinners in an effort to create a sense of purpose and stability.

He said, “That idea of long-term recovery and long-term treatment provides so many opportunities for solutions without that kind of residual spin-in, spin-out [effect]. Fresh Start’s been a proponent of long-term treatment for a long time.”

Holstead remarked that, “This government’s come to table to be able to provide it [funding for treatment]. We’re far away from ‘28 days treatment,’ and the truth of the matter is, it’s a long-term problem that needs long-term solution for so many individuals.”

A bedroom inside the Lethbridge Recovery Community, April 28, 2023. (Photo: S. Jones | LNN)

Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen said the project represents “a beautiful new building, jobs for the construction industry and new jobs for staff at the facility,” but it also represents hope.

Hyggen commented, “For many people who will use this facility, it offers them a path to the hope of a better life.” He added this “would not happen without the provincial government’s commitment to recovery-based treatment in our area.”

The province’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure, Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf, said Lethbridge is a community in Alberta that has felt the impacts of the addiction crisis more than most.

Neudorf said the new facility will increase the number of treatment beds in Lethbridge and the surrounding area by more than 50 per cent.

Neudorf stated, “Recovery communities are an important part of the Alberta government’s recovery-oriented systems of care model for mental health and addiction supports and services.”

A fitness area inside the Lethbridge Recovery Community, April 28, 2023. (Photo: S. Jones | LNN)

A recovery community is also being built on the Blood Tribe First Nation.

Neudorf said, “These two recovery communities in southern Alberta will increase the addiction treatment capacity by 125 beds, all of which will be fully-funded with no user fees.”

“Together, these recovery communities will give thousands of more people from across our province the opportunity to pursue recovery from addiction and most importantly, give them hope. They will also give hope to the community of Lethbridge that has long struggled without enough addiction treatment to meet the demand,” Neudorf added.

He noted that construction on the centre in the Blood Tribe First Nation is expected to start later this year.

by Justin Goulet / Sarah Jones

Lethbridge Recovery Community set to open later this year

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