B.C.’s mental health and addictions minister says the province is putting $60.5 million toward bettering the quality of care at existing recovery and treatment centres.
The new dollars will allow care providers to hire more staff, further train existing ones on supporting vulnerable clients and keep up with the increasing costs of operation. Jennifer Whiteside said they expect these changes to trickle down to clients and result in a better experience for them.
“Many service providers in this sector are non-profits and they are doing everything they can to stretch their dollars, while helping people along their pathway to recovery,” she said in an announcement Tuesday (March 12).
Broken down, the $60.5 million will bump daily rates at registered bed-based services from $35.90 to $60 and at licensed bed-based services from $45 to $70. It’s the first increase since 2019, when daily rates were raised by between $5 and $15. Prior to that, rates hadn’t been raised for a decade.
This year’s increase will impact about 300 recovery homes, according to the province. It will come into effect on June 1.
Speaking Tuesday, a client at New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community in Victoria said staying at the home has given him a sense of belonging, love and dignity.
“These pillars of support should not be luxuries,” said Sean W., whose full last name was not provided for privacy reasons. He added that he’s been able to access counselling and medical attention, connect with other people and get a reprieve from homelessness.
The fresh funds make up about half of the $117 million B.C. announced in its 2024 budget for mental health and addictions supports over the next three years.
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Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to state that the new funding amount is $60.5 million, not $117 million, as previously reported.
