Rehab centre in Saskatchewan offering holiday discount
For a second year in a row, a private addictions treatment centre in Saskatchewan has offered people a discount to get sober in time for the holidays.
"We know that Christmas season can be a very hard season for a lot of people. We find that a lot of people who are in full blown addictions find themselves to be very isolated," explained Prairie Sky Recovery CEO Jacqueline Hoffman.
"This is kind of a time of year where a lot of festivities centre around alcohol consumption and drug consumption because it seems to kind of go hand in hand with celebrating the holidays, which is unfortunate, but that's kind of the truth of it."
Called "I'll Be Home for Christmas," the 35-day rehab program costs $7,500, down from its full price of $12,350.
"We want to be able to offer people the option of private treatment when otherwise they might not be available to afford it."
This year's program began in November. By the end of this week, Hoffman expects eight people to have graduated.
The goal, she explained, is to give participants the tools and supports they need to face their addictions during the holidays.
Like last year, Hoffman said they will also offer the program at the start of the New Year. They expect between six to 12 more people to sign up.
Numbers down
Hoffman said so far, this year's number of participants is down from the 25 who signed up during the 2016 holiday season.
"We were kind of surprised actually that we didn't have more takers for this discount, so we've decided to extend it into January."
She said many of those who completed the program last year are still sober.
Hoffman believes the low numbers may be due to layoffs and an expiry of people's private insurance, which can pay for the treatment program.
She said staff at the centre have requested funding from the province to pay for some beds in order to get more people in the door and bring down the number of people waiting to get help with their addictions.
