Portage opens satellite centre in downtown Moncton to help youth with drug addiction
New facility on Church Street will help youth explore residential treatment option
A new centre to help young people suffering from drug addiction has officially opened in downtown Moncton.
Portage Atlantic — a non-profit that helps youth with addictions — already operates a live-in centre near Sussex, on the shore of Cassidy Lake.
On Friday morning, the organization announced its new satellite office in downtown Moncton, which will open its doors on July 28 for youth aged 14 to 21.
The new satellite office on Church Street will operate five days a week and is designed to help young people explore whether residential treatment is for them. It's also intended to provide a smoother transition into the Cassidy Lake program.
"Youth who have completed the program at Cassidy Lake prepare an exit plan ... and make suggestions about what they feel could be done better," said Carol Tracey, director of development for Portage Atlantic.
She said the April 2024 survey revealed that 21 per cent of them wished they had been better prepared for the program before committing to it.
Tracey said the new satellite office will allow youth seeking help to experience the first two weeks of what is offered at the live-in facility at Cassidy Lake. Those deemed eligible for the program will be transferred, while the others will be paired with resources that serve them better, she said.
"We landed on Moncton because of the fact that we have an increased number of people from this region who are looking for help."
Tracey was not able to provide a statistic about the increase in demand.
She said the new centre is a walk-in model with no commitments.
Those visiting will learn about the residential program's expectations, what items they can bring with them, the program's school system and more, she said.
Portage Atlantic's Cassidy Lake facility offers a maximum of 64 beds, she said.
"Youth who are prepared to go right away, they can go that route."
"There's other youth that maybe are unsure. This is a good program for them to figure out if rehab, live-in rehab, is what they're looking for," said Tracey.
Rob McKee, New Brunswick's minister responsible for addictions and mental health services, said there's a demand for the service in the province's major centres.
"It's very, you know, alarming when you see youth in those situations of crisis," he said.
Suzanne Boucher has worked as a counsellor with Portage Atlantic for the last eight years. She went through the program at Cassidy Lake in 2005 and then through their adult program in Quebec in 2016, before starting to work for the organization.
Boucher said the motivation to join the live-in program can waver for many through the first two weeks.
She said the first two weeks are full of workshops to help identify fears, remove anxiety and get the youth comfortable by answering their questions and concerns. It also includes a tour of the Cassidy Lake facility to allow them to experience the environment, she said.
"It's a therapeutic community, so the teenagers in therapy ... they're helping each other, they have responsibilities, they're going through the day-to-day and the staff are there to really guide them."
After going through the program twice, Boucher said she fell in love with it.
"Portage helped me a lot in my life and I really believe in the program."
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