Three new recovery centres to open in B.C.'s Interior

Three new recovery centres will soon open in B.C.'s Interior in memory of Brandon Jansen, who died of a fentanyl overdose while staying in a treatment centre.

The Brandon Jansen Foundation — which was started by Brandon's mother, Michelle Jansen, five months after his death in March 2016 — will open its first centre on March 1 in Penticton, B.C.

Brandon died while being treated at the Sunshine Coast Medical Centre. According to his mom, it was the twelfth facility he had attended for his drug addiction.

The original opening for the Penticton centre was scheduled for January, but was brought to a halt when concerned neighbours bought the property to stop the project.

But Jansen says that after the initial letdown, people reached out to offer support and help her secure space.

"I was very pleased to find out that a number of people who reached out to me were property owners that offered up their properties," said Jansen.

Because of that generosity, the foundation is planning to open two more centres in Osoyoos and Vernon faster than Jansen had imagined. Jansen has made agreements with the individual owners of the properties and says that some could lead to eventual ownership.

"Instead of opening one facility … we are able to open three almost simultaneously," she said.

'It's not one size fits all'

Jansen said that each recovery home will have a maximum of six beds to allow for a customized treatment approach for each individual.

"It's not one size fits all when it comes to opioid addiction," she said.

The centres will be staffed 24 hours a day and will have security. They will offer daily one-to-one therapy sessions as well as group-based therapy and it will all be overseen by addictions workers and doctors within the communities.

"We also have a very heavy focus on nutrition and physical conditioning and we're also going to provide wrap-around services when people exit our program," she said.

When someone is set to leave treatment, the foundation will help with employment and housing and ensure each person has a network of support, including counselling.

Furthermore, if someone at the centre relapses, they will not be forced to leave. 

"We are not punitive in nature. We understand that relapse is very much a part of recovery"

'Something has to change'

Jansen said the outpouring of support after losing out on the first property shows more people are starting to understand the severity of the opioid crisis.

"What that tells me is that people now are starting to realize that this isn't a Vancouver Downtown Eastside problem … these are our children, these are our sisters and brothers, husbands and wives and our mothers and fathers," Jansen said.

"It is hitting every family. You would be hard-pressed at this point to find a family that doesn't have someone that they know affected by an opioid addiction."

Once she gets these three centres up and running, Jansen hopes to open centres across the province, eventually moving across Canada and the United States.

"There is no good treatment out there nor are there enough beds."

With files from Daybreak South