Total of 50 new beds for Lethbridge Recovery Community facility

The Aberta Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Nathan Neudorf was in Lethbridge today to announce a new $19-million Lethbridge Recovery Community facility.

It’s decked out with 50 new beds to help support those who are seeking treatment from addiction. The facility is now the second building for the Fresh Start Recovery Centre in Lethbridge. Neudorf explained the types of treatments that will be given at the new centre.

“At the Lethbridge Recovery Community clients will be able to live here and participate in full time programming for up to a year and beyond as needed. This intensive approach can help an individual make meaningful progress in their journey towards recovery and start firmly establishing a new way of life. And this 50 beds will serve the men. It just helps programming to keep the two programs separate. But this is all additional beds to help serve the numbers that we see that are caught in addiction here in the south.”

Bruce Holstead, the executive director of the Fresh Start Recovery Centre battled addiction in the past and has now been sober for 24 years. He spoke to us about how vital these additional beds will be moving forward.

“When you’re dealing with parents, family, community, begging, looking for that availability and you have to say no because the bed is not there, I think speaks volumes in its own self that the beds are needed and there’s not a day goes by that conversation around a need from an individual pleading to get somewhere from where they’re at.”

Staff from the Alberta government also said a recovery community will be built on the Blood Tribe with construction set to begin later this year.