Additional supports are now available for addictions treatment to improve outcomes and reduce harm in the community. (Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

Police, province expand addiction treatment and supports in Medicine Hat

Mar 18, 2022 | 1:00 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – City police can now offer arrested individuals immediate access to addiction treatment in the city’s jail.

The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VOPD) treats those with opioid agonist therapy drugs and provides ongoing support and monitoring in an outpatient setting. The drugs manage withdrawal symptoms to help a person function normally.

All Albertans can access the program between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. by calling 1-844-383-7688 and there is no waitlist.

The provincial government is also providing $825,000 to Our Collective Journey. The Medicine Hat organization helps people struggling with mental health, isolation, addiction issues and more, striving to change the narrative from an addiction focus to a recovery focus.

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As well, the government has opened access to the Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) to residents of Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta. The mobile app is designed to prevent fatal overdoses among Albertans using opioids and other substances alone.

People using the DORS app will receive a call from STARS emergency centre if they do not respond to a timer. Emergency medical personnel will be dispatched to a person’s location if an overdose is suspected.