Covenant House Vancouver

Lily had been in hospital for three weeks. Lily is 20 and she was a longtime crystal meth user, and the effects of this drug can be far reaching and permanent. Lily was displaying psychosis; and although she was clearly mentally ill, we were uncertain as to whether or not this was organic (biological) or drug induced psychosis.

The Outreach Team visited her consistently in the hospital, attempting to work closely with the hospital staff to collaborate on a suitable discharge plan. She was released to another shelter and two days later, but unfortunately, she was hit by a car and admitted back into the hospital.

We worked closely with the hospital staff to support Lily in her recovery. The hospital helped Lily to reconnect with her parents and she agreed to repatriate home to Manitoba. We picked Lily up at the hospital, helped her pack her bags, call her parents, and then drove her down to the airport. We coordinated with the airline, to have her escorted on and off the plane and to meet her connecting flight.

Lily called us a few days later to tell us she arrived home safely. She thanked us for all our support.
We have our fingers crossed that her mental health issues were only drug related, and that she will see full recovery.

Crystal meth
 

Addiction devastates many families in Canada and at Covenant House we see its effect on our youth in many ways. Many of the youth we serve struggle with addictions (crystal meth, alcohol, heroin, crack) and many are on the street due to the addictions of their parents or caregivers addictions.

Addiction is not something to be ashamed of, whether it is affecting you personally, your child or someone else in your circle of family and friends.  Below are some resources you can seek out if you or someone you know is struggling with addictions.

If you have a specific question please feel free to write us at the Ask Covenant House section on our blog and we will do our best to answer your questions.

Support groups:

Alcoholics Anonymous Vancouver
Narcotics Anonymous
British Columbia Region of Narcotics Anonymous
Al-anon

Detox and treatment centres

Canadian Drug Rehab Centres
Angels Community

Other Information

Addictions and Recovery
Spiritual River

The BC Court of Appeal has recently ruled that Insite will remain open. This has been a very hot topic causing debates not only in Vancouver but throughout Canada and the world. There are many different perspectives on this issue from that of the drug user, health care workers and hospitals, outreach workers and the general public. We are  curious to hear your opinion about this topic and we invite you to read about it below and have your say.

For the full story please see the following links.

Vancouver Sun editorial
Vancouver Sun article
National Post article

So what do you think?