Community Transition Teams have distributed more than 2,500 take-home naloxone kits to people leaving a correctional centre since 2020. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Government support

Increased support for people transitioning from correctional centres back into society

Oct 3, 2022 | 12:33 PM

NANAIMO — The B.C. Government is providing more support for people leaving correctional centres.

The Oct. 3 announcement from the Province stated they are expanding its Community Transition Teams to offer increased mental-health and substance-use support when released from all 10 provincial correctional centres, including Nanaimo Correctional Centre.

The expansion will double team numbers from five to ten, increase the size and capacity of those teams by adding new healthcare and support workers and increasing the length of time people can receive services from 30 to 90 days.

Minister of mental health and addictions Sheila Malcolmson said support for people who are just released from correctional centres is key for a safe transition back into society.

“These new and expanded Community Transition Teams will help people get the support they need on their pathway to recovery.”

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The five new teams will serve people leaving the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, Ford Mountain Correctional Centre, North Fraser Pretrial Centre, Okanagan Correctional Centre and Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre.

They are in addition to the Community Transition Teams already supporting people leaving Nanaimo Correctional Centre, Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, Prince George Regional Correctional Centre, Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre and Fraser Regional Correctional Centre. There will also be a centralized hub providing clinical support and program coordination for all ten teams.

Those teams will be made up of social workers, nurses, peer support workers and Indigenous patient navigators to provide short-term assistance for mental health, addictions, and other forms of treatment, and connect them to the proper resources.

Minister of public safety and solicitor general Mike Farnworth said they will continue to work with their partners to identify other areas they can change and update to further enhance community safety.

“Our government has been working to build a comprehensive system of mental-health and addictions services to get people the help they need to break the cycle of offending, so that we can all live in safer communities.”

Since 2019, the five original teams have helped around 1,500 people get support on their way to recovery, and continued their work throughout the pandemic, according to the province.

This is all part of the Governments plan to increase support for people living with mental health and substance-use needs as a key part of their Pathway to Hope program to build a more comprehensive system for British Columbians.

You can learn more about this program here at the B.C. Governments website.

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