Four Counties Addiction Services Team (Fourcast) is embarking on its next step towards ultimately helping men with addictions by offering live-in treatment services in Peterborough.
Fourcast has launched a recruitment campaign to hire key staff for its new bed-based treatment program serving Peterborough and area.
Having recently completed the renovation of the historic Paddock Wood residence, Fourcast is preparing for the new services that will be housed at the site, which is located in the northeast end of Peterborough.
This stage is a key step forward towards the next phase of addictions treatment for both Fourcast and residents in need of support.
“Any progress on this project is exciting as it gets us closer to opening our programs for admissions,” Donna Rogers, Fourcast’s executive director, told kawarthaNOW.
“The renovation phase has been fairly complex as it involves all of the behind-the-scenes pieces like zoning, drawings, permitting, inspections, securing capital and health ministry permissions, et cetera. We now have a building that is safe and purpose-renovated for our clients and staff. Finishing this phase allows us to move to more program-related activities,” Rogers said.
Fourcast is recruiting staff members for a six-unit withdrawal management program and a six-bed residential treatment program. It’s hard to predict when those programs will open, but Fourcast is feeling positive the agency will attract the people it needs to run a 24/7 program, Rogers said.
“We are hoping to generate a lot of interest through our media partners to increase our recruitment reach. Following this recruitment phase, we will be in a better position to understand our staffing status. We are optimistic that we will have a great response to our postings.”
Fourcast will be recruiting a full complement of staff to run the “highly anticipated” residential programs, which include a 35-day residential addiction treatment program and the withdrawal management program. Developed over the past two years, the programs will align with current best practices for addiction treatment and withdrawal management and will allow Fourcast to add “this vital new service to our existing program options,” according to a press release.
“We are committed to having the right people in the right roles so we can ensure that we are offering the highest quality programming and meeting the highest standards of care to those receiving our services. Fourcast’s new programs will require a team of highly trained professionals to operate services that will see male-identifying participants residing on-site 24 hours a day.”
The agency is hiring people for a wide range of roles, including full-time and part-time staff for day and night shifts in different capacities from addictions and withdrawal management workers to food services and overnight care workers.
“Just as we do for our community-based treatment programs, we place the utmost importance on employing qualified, experienced, and compassionate professionals who will uphold our values in every interaction with our residential clients,” Rogers said.
There is currently no residential addiction treatment program available in the region of Peterborough, causing many people to travel to Oshawa, Kingston, or Barrie to get the help they need. Fourcast said adding local bed-based services will allow the agency to complete the continuum of services from early-access and harm-reduction services to full residential care.
“As we heard from many community service agencies, government partners, and health care partners during the early stages of approving this initiative, Peterborough and its surrounding counties have a critical need for this program as part of the continuum of substance use services,” Rogers said. “By providing 12 new units of bed-based addiction services to the community, we will be able to get people into this intensive level of treatment much more quickly and much closer to home.”
The new programs will be housed in the 160-year-old building, located at 24 Paddock Wood off Armour Road, which was formerly used by the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge.
When asked what would be the best possible outcome for Paddock Wood, Rogers shared, “In a perfect world, we successfully launch the six-unit withdrawal management program and the six-bed residential treatment program and get experience providing these services, and we find future opportunities to expand the program for more beds and create women-specific programs. We plan to dream big for growth.”
Fourcast is posting job opportunities on its website at www.fourcast.ca/about-us/careers and intends to share the news about its need for staff with community partners and on social media.
Fourcast is a community-based addiction treatment provider that has been operating in Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes since 1983. Staff members provide support for people with alcohol, drug, or gambling-related problems through a range of programming options. Fourcast works with its clients with the goal of developing a treatment path that is right for their unique needs.
In addition to individual and group counselling, Fourcast also works in collaboration with community service partners to support people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
“Our focus is on encouraging positive change, and our goal is to support our clients by empowering them to make their own choices in an open, non-judgmental atmosphere,” Fourcast notes in the release.
