Councillor 'optimistic' as sobering centre business case again sent to minister with IH support

Sobering centre eyed again

Photo: KTW file photo.

A jail cell in the basement of the Kamloops RCMP detachment.

A city councillor says a business case for a sobering and assessment centre in Kamloops has made its way once more to the province, with “whole-hearted support” from Interior Health.

During Tuesday’s council meeting, Coun. Katie Neustaeter provided an update on the business case, which has seen “a lot of starts and stops” since it was initially proposed in 2016 — and appeared to have hit a dead end last year.

Neustaeter said an updated business case is now in the hands of the new Minister of Health, and the city and community partners are awaiting a response.

“We're excited that that now sits with the ministry,” Neustaeter said.

“We are exceptionally optimistic that they will recognize that this is such a significant gap that cannot be ignored in our community, especially right now, as a lot of the policy that's being created at the provincial level is having extraordinary impacts downstream on people.”

A sobering centre has been officially requested by the City of Kamloops nearly a decade ago, following years of community discussion. The facility was again recommended last year at the close of a coroner’s inquest into the case of a man who died in a city jail cell.

In 2023, upon the province’s request, the city spent $30,000 on a consultant to refresh its sobering centre business case for resubmission, but in late July, council was abruptly made aware of a statement from the ministry indicating there were no plans to move forward with the facility.

“Shortly before last year's UBCM [Union of B.C. Municipalities convention], the most recent one, we were told that Interior Health was not interested in engaging in the process anymore for a sobering and assessment centre,” Neustaeter said.

She said council discussed this turn of events with the Ministry of Health during a meeting at UBCM and left with a renewed focus to “work on both that relationship and that file.”

“Since then, we've had a number of extremely productive conversations and meetings with Interior Health, who have come fully to the table and have now given their whole-hearted support after a few more updates to the business case to complete it for submission,” Neustaeter said.

The business case was submitted just before Christmas with a few changes, along with letters of endorsement from the health authority and community groups.

Neustaeter said the changes included removing mention of any service providers who might be involved as a request for proposals will be filed if the business case moves ahead, as well as some minor adjustments to the budget and the operating model.

The councillor said Susan Brown, president and CEO of Interior Health, has personally expressed her support and excitement for the project, and is "truly grateful" the health authority re-entered the conversation about the sobering centre.

“This is a milestone we've never achieved with this project before, and I'm grateful for everyone who has made it possible along the way,” Neustaeter said.

“And now we wait for a response from the ministry — hopefully that will be soon — and we invite Kamloopsians to join us in that call to the ministry, and recognize that this gap exists and that they can fill it.”

Interior Health is the only health authority in the province that doesn’t have a sobering and assessment centre operating in its region.

Sobering centres are intended for short-term, 24-hour stays, providing medical supervision, shelter and assessment for people who are under the influence of substances.

The goals of a sobering centre include improving short-term health and safety outcomes for people who are intoxicated, providing an access point for services and housing, offering better care for Indigenous people and reducing strain on hospital emergency rooms and police jail cells.

The final sobering centre business case can be reviewed here.