Tyler Lorenz, left, executive director of Residents in Recovery, responds to a question from Graham Brown, president of Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society, following a presentation last Tuesday. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Tyler Lorenz, executive director of the Residents in Recovery Society, is banking on hope and support from the community to secure more funds for their sober living treatment and outpatient day programs.
The two high-demand addiction treatment services in Lloydminster have been cancelled due to zero funding from the Alberta government and cuts to funding from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
The organization issued a news release about the cancellations on Jan. 8.
A new crack has since appeared in the funding door at SHA, as Lorenz explained at the Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society meeting last Tuesday.
“We just got an invitation on Monday to provide information on our program to determine if we are a qualified provider of sober living services,” he said.
“That’s due on Feb. 9, so that will allow us the opportunity, if we’re approved, as a qualified supplier to present a funding proposal to the Saskatchewan government.”
Lorenz is not sure what the rationale is for the invitation, given the pre and post-sober living program was the society’s first service offered in the community when their doors opened.
“It’s hard to say. It seems a little repetitive,” said Lorenz, who is frustrated by political jurisdiction.
“That’s always been our biggest issue for sure.”
“Right now, we’re going to focus on family treatment until the opportunity arises that we get back to doing sober living like we want,” he said.
Lorenz says Residents in Recovery only receives about 23 per cent of its sober living day programming budget from the Saskatchewan government.
“That doesn’t pay the bill,” he said.
Recent cuts to income support programs in both provinces made it tough for recovering residents to pay the $540 monthly rent from the shelter allowance for those core programs.
Lorenz says it’s also clear in the new application that SHA is only interested in funding Saskatchewan beds for Saskatchewan residents.
“So write to your MLA or the minister of health,” he said.
“The more pressure the better. It is going to affect this community. It’s going to have an immediate negative effect.”
Lorenz was stoked to hear the Concerned Citizens Society has written a letter of support for the new application following his presentation.
“So many of them have been huge supporters of our program,” said Lorenz, who noted there were more than 100 people on the wait list for the two programs that were cut.
He says there has always been a huge demand for pre-sober living, but also for family treatment programs that currently has a waiting list of 27 families.
“With mental health and addictions on the rise, post-COVID, more needs to be done,” said Lorenz.