NDP calls for more treatment, recovery supports amid Lloydminster drug crisis

“There are simply not enough treatment spaces, not enough mental supports and not enough transitional housing available for people who need it,” Ritchie said. “We are hearing that RCMP and hospitals have nowhere to refer people. We are hearing that people are being released back onto the streets because the supports they need do not exist.”

Tyler Lorenz, former director of the Residents in Recovery Centre in Lloydminster, which provides pre- and post-treatment services, echoed those concerns.

“What we’ve found is the governments really looking at trying to band-aid the problem, putting little fixes here and there, looking at spending money on enforcement rather than actual treatment, looking at spending money on cleaning up encampments rather than providing housing for individuals,” Lorenz said.

He said many unhoused people in Lloydminster are on wait-lists for treatment. The wait-list at Residents in Recovery is currently six months long.

“You don’t need to force anybody into treatment; they all want to go at certain points, there’s just nowhere for them to go,” he said. “Instead of looking at finding resources to take advantage of when people are ready to go to treatment, we’re going to waste all this money forcing people to go when they’re not ready.”

Lorenz said Lloydminster needs more places for people to go, whether treatment facilities, shelters or hospitals.

“They literally have nowhere to go. There is nowhere for them to lay their heads at night, the shelters are full, there is no women’s shelter here, they literally have no options.”

The NDP said Lloydminster is not alone in facing these challenges, pointing to a recent City of Saskatoon report that accused the provincial government of shifting costs onto municipal taxpayers. The report noted rising overdose rates and the closure of Prairie Harm Reduction have increased pressure on fire and police services.

In Regina, a drug alert was issued after 100 overdoses were reported in the first 10 days of June.

“Saskatchewan families deserve better than a government that keeps ignoring a crisis that is costing lives and overwhelming communities like Lloydminster,” said Leroy Laliberte, Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Addictions.

He said every delayed treatment bed, missing recovery space and gap in mental health support results in more people becoming unhoused, cycling through emergency rooms or encountering the justice system instead of receiving the help they need.

battlefordsNOW contacted the Saskatchewan Party and other resource centres for additional information but did not receive a response by time of publication.

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Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com

by Alyssa Rudolph

NDP calls for more treatment, recovery supports amid Lloydminster drug crisis

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