Advocates warn of gender-based gap in addiction care
Cindy Foster is getting ready to open the Regenesis Centre for Recovery, a first-of-its-kind addictions centre in Manitoba.
"This is the only live-in treatment facility in all of Manitoba for the queer community, specifically,” said Foster.
Foster said this centre aims to provide a home-like atmosphere for those on the road to recovery.
It will be able to house six people at any given time.
"Primarily those that belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. (We) will also be looking to give priority intake to those (who) also belong to the BIPOC and disabled communities."
Communities Foster said often fall through the cracks when it comes to addiction services in Manitoba.
"There are a few supports specifically for the queer community, and particularly for those that are transgender in Manitoba, and those folks often have a tough time going through traditional binary treatment options,” said Foster.
That's why she said a centre like this one is desperately needed in the community.
"There are so few resources available. And the ones that are available are stretched very thin," said Foster.
It's a gender-based gap in care the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre has noticed as well.
"One of the greatest needs now is to support women, and especially women with young children, we're seeing a huge gap there,” said Greg Kyllo, the centre’s executive director.
Kyllo said plans are in the works to create an Anne Oake Recovery Centre, geared specifically for women and mothers.
“Currently, at Bruce Oake we support men, but there is a deep need in the community, and we're being asked every day about doing more to support women, and being able to support all genders. And so that's something that we really think that is needed.”
These initiatives come on the heels of two of the worst years for drug-related deaths in Manitoba.
Last year 445 people died, and the year prior, 467.
Foster said she believes these beds at the Regenesis Centre will save lives.
"Because it will allow folks that belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to have a safe space to go in order to seek the services for addiction recovery.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
Robbers made off with 'several million euros' of jewels in armed heist at Harry Winston store in Paris
Armed robbers who used a motorbike as a battering ram made off with 'several million euros' worth of valuables in a heist of the luxury Paris boutique of self-declared 'Jeweler to the Stars' Harry Winston, the French prosecutor’s office overseeing the police probe said.
Serious boat crash kills 3, injures 5 on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake: OPP
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says without further details
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a 'hard landing' on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating.
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Woman killed in Montreal's Saint-Michel district: ex-husband arrested
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Ottawa driver who appeared to be racing another vehicle on Highway 416 facing charges
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says an Ottawa driver is facing charges after being caught going 187 km/h on Highway 416.