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Addiction inventory

With half of all arrests in Thunder Bay last year attributed to public intoxication, the city is looking for solutions to its substance abuse problem.
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Thunder Bay District Social Services Administrative Board chairman Coun. Iain Angus. (Jamie Smith, tbnewswatch.com)
With half of all arrests in Thunder Bay last year attributed to public intoxication, the city is looking for solutions to its substance abuse problem.

The Balmoral Centre turned 1,000 people away, Shelter House is over capacity and more than 2,600 people with substance abuse problems visited the emergency room last year, according to a report that goes before city council on Monday.

The report, compiled by city manager Tim Commisso, recommends the city match $30,000 already committed from the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administrative Board to take an "inventory" of the city’s addicts and the services they need, said TBDSSAB chair Coun. Iain Angus.

"We know that we’ve got a problem with people who are using alcohol and drugs in this community," Angus said.

"We want to find the series of solutions that work for Thunder Bay, that deal with the reality of the population. We’re talking about the reality of the underlying reasons why they’re addicted. Unless you fix the real problem detoxing isn’t going to work in the long term."

Members from the city, police, St. Joseph’s Care Group Shelter House and TBDSSAB have been working since June to discuss ways to address an increase in demand for social services such as the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, which the report states has seen a 25 per cent increase in substance abuse visits over the past six years.

The report also recommends lobbying the province for funding for the study.

Angus said there is no timeline for when the study would be completed.

"Like everything else it should have happened yesterday," he said.






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