While the final details are still being ironed out, the Yukon government announced right on deadline that a live-in managed alcohol program with 10 beds for individuals struggling with severe alcohol use disorder will be opening in Whitehorse.
Establishing a managed alcohol program within a year is a pledge in the confidence-and-supply agreement, known as CASA, signed between the Yukon Liberal Party and Yukon NDP caucuses on Jan. 31, 2023.
The program is a component of the substance use health emergency plan released in August.
READ MORE: Yukon government releases strategy 19 months after declaring substance use emergency
Under supervision, the program will deliver medically prescribed doses of alcohol in beverage form at regular intervals to up to 10 live-in clients.
During an interview by phone on Feb. 1, the day after the announcement, Cameron Grandy, the director of mental wellness and substance use services, explained that people who need help from this type of program are likely “treatment resistant,” which means this is not their first attempt at controlling alcohol use. Individuals may suffer from other health and social issues and have regular contact with emergency medical services, the hospital and police.
“It’s really with our partners through that we’re going to identify referrals for people who really could benefit and stabilize within the program,” he said, noting that the program is voluntary admission with conditions around drinking routines and patterns in place.
There is currently no maximum length of time that a person can stay in the program. When asked how a client will know when they’re ready to leave the program, Grandy said that depends on the person.
“Some people may not leave,” he said.
“Others may choose to change their relationship with alcohol.”
Grandy indicated the program will be a starting point that could lead to the potential for supporting people remotely or in communities.
He said staff who run the residential program in the Yukon’s capital will work from a “trauma-informed” and “culturally-informed” lens.
Measures of success are still being determined, although a reduction in contact with RCMP, less arrests, fewer drop-offs at the hospital and the arrest processing unit at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre and a lower number of admissions to detox can be used as indicators, Grandy said.
According to a Jan. 31 press release issued by the Yukon government, the first program intake is scheduled for later this spring.
The territory taking on the program is intended to address its “high rates of alcohol consumption, which are among the highest in Canada,” the release reads. The release indicates the program is a step towards addressing severe alcohol use disorder, particularly among vulnerable people in the Yukon who haven’t found other treatments that have worked for them.
Input from health-care professionals, Yukon RCMP and First Nations governments helped shape the program, which the release describes as “culturally sensitive and aligned with community needs.”
Once it’s fully operating, the budget is projected at more than $2 million a year.
Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee, who is quoted in the release, said the program is about being compassionate when addressing severe alcohol use disorder and guiding affected community members and their families towards a safer, healthier path.
“This program, rooted in clinical evidence, is an important step in our broader strategy to combat the substance use health emergency and enhance public health, wellness and safety across the territory,” she said.
The release notes the program will provide “structured care” for individuals with severe alcohol dependency and is intended to help clients overcome barriers related to poverty and homelessness.
According to the release, expected outcomes of the program include helping people to become more socially stable and reduce “non-beverage alcohol consumption.” The goal is to offer a more “dignified and stable life” for participants while reducing the social and health-related costs associated with severe alcohol use disorder.
Dr. Sudit Ranade, the Yukon’s chief medical officer of health, said in the release that he is encouraged to see this addition to the spectrum of treatment services available to Yukoners.
“Managed alcohol programs are an important component of a spectrum of services that are needed for people living with substance use disorders. Both treatment and prevention are important to address the array of harms and negative health consequences of alcohol use,” he said.
The program will be housed at what is currently the St. Elias Adult Group Home by the escarpment on Hoge Street. The release suggests the location provides a “safe, supportive setting conducive to the program’s objectives.”
As previously reported by the News, the current group home residents are being split up and moved out to two smaller group homes. The Yukon Party had initially raised questions about the group home’s future. The group home residents were just notified about the “long-planned move” in early January.
READ MORE: St. Elias Adult Group Home residents being moved to other group homes
The release indicates the government will inform Yukoners of progress made through this program.
Yukon NDP Leader Kate White is quoted in the government’s release as well as the third party’s own release on the announcement.
In the Yukon NDP release, White said the program is a start; however, Whitehorse needs a more accessible drop-in program.
“Medical experts in Whitehorse have been calling for a managed alcohol program for years,” she said.
White indicated that the Liberals didn’t act until she made them do it through CASA.
More than 40 managed alcohol programs are already running throughout Canada as of February 2022, according to the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
Per the release, the Health and Social Services department has already begun dabbling in managed alcohol services over the past year at an unnamed Whitehorse long-term care home.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com