Red Deer's recovery community on its way to completion

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was in Red Deer yesterday celebrating the construction of the new Red Deer recovery community project. The facility is located just off of Highway 2A North of Highway 11A and Gaetz Avenue in Chiles Industrial Park.  

“A key part of Alberta's ambitious strategy to lead Canada on life saving progress on mental health and addictions is the five new lifetime treatment facilities that we are building across the province. The first one that will be opened is right here at the Red Deer Recovery community,” said Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. 

The 75-bed recovery community project is expected to be completed by the fall. The facility will offer a long-term addiction treatment program focused on helping people pursue recovery. 

“That will provide a free room and board for up to a year of intensive support including skills training, on-site employment to help people provide structure to their lives, group and individual therapy, medical support training in areas like personal care, nutrition, cooking, basic skills that some people coping with addictions never learned. This program will be available as we say to people for up to a year program, giving them progressively more responsibility and advantages in this community as they learn from their peers and from experts in the field from people in recovery about how to get out of the destructive spiral of addictions,” said Kenney. 

Mayor of Red Deer Ken Johnston is excited to bring a new sort of culture to the City of Red Deer. He noted that the City has been waiting for a treatment component for the City’s drug strategy since 2014. Already, he says the facility has begun to feel like home to Red Deer. 

“But my goodness, when you speak of culture holistic healing purposeful culture to be greeted at the gate by somebody with that you know, this is going to be a place of incredible restoration of lives, of family and of hope. I'm proud to be here today,” said Johnston. 

52 of the 72 modular buildings are on site with the remaining modulars expected to arrive soon. Other facilities of the same calibre will be built in Lethbridge, Gunn, and Blood Tribe. 

Earlier this week, the Alberta Government also announced that Red Deer’s RCMP officers will be able to offer a Virtual Opioid Dependency Program to those taken in custody.  For more information on that click the link below.