INFORMATION SESSIONS

Session One

• Alcohol, other drugs, and gambling

Session Two

• Substance ABUSE and problem gambling

Session Three

• The CHANGE PROCESS

Session Four

• The treatment process and self-help groups

Where?

Westview Health Centre – Addiction & Mental Health

 (Room C3.01)

4405 South Park Drive, Stony Plain

Ph: 780 963-8098 or 780 968-3267 (Elizabeth or Stacey)

When?

First four Mondays of the Month

In May and June 2012 (No session on May 21^st )

3PM to 4:15 PM

DROP IN BASIS- NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY

Chancer Winokur (FASD service dog) is in the top 20 dogs nominated in the service dog category. We have over 500 current votes out of 30,000 for all service dogs entered – Let’s make some noise about FASD – get friends and family to vote each day http://www.herodogawards.org/vote/?nominee=82443978 Chancer Winokur was the dog featured in the New York Times Article on Fetal Alcohol was nominated for Hero Dog – Service Dog Category in the 2012 Animal Humane Society. He was nominated by The Foundation for Service Dog Support Please consider joining this effort to build awareness. Maybe it will take a dog to get our “woof out” about fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.You are allowed to vote 1 x per day until June 30, 2011 – so like FASD this is a long haul in voting.

http://www.herodogawards.org/vote/?nominee=82443978       <—- copy and paste this into your browser to vote!

Appreciation for every vote.
Jodee Kulp

Chancer’s Story

The story of Chancer and our son, Iyal, takes you beyond any expectation you may have about dogs and boys. Two broken hearts became one in this inter-species partnership between Iyal, a virtual seven-year old in a thirteen year-old boy?s body and a winning ambassador in the guise of a lovable golden retriever, named Chancer. For Chancer is not an ordinary dog, but one specifically trained to help Iyal, to lead him out of his hidden world, while defining it for others. Chancer was trained by 4 Paws for Ability in Ohio as a Behavioral Assistance Dog for Iyal.

Chancer gives voice and spirit to his boys very real disability fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This generous dog became a compass for our whole family as our journey through adoption and a devastating lifelong birth defect became a complex maze of medical, emotional and behavioral dead-ends. As Iyal’s mom I was determined to help him navigate a world that remained unfriendly to a child exhibiting uncontrollable and inappropriate behaviors with no outwardly visible cause. Chancer is the first certified service dog in the world trained specifically to assist a child with FASD.

Chancer is a subtle hero as he legitimizes and gives a uniquely inviting and valid presence to Iyal’s otherwise invisible disability. But the unconditional allegiance between Iyal and his “hero”has since served to inspire literally millions of people around the globe. Their story, “Wonder Dog” was featured in The New York Times Magazine on February 5, 2012.

PROVINCE ANNOUNCES MENTAL-HEALTH COURT TO BEGIN IN MAY

Expanded Mental-health Services Help Make Problem-solving Court Possible: Ministers

A special court that works with individuals whose mental-health issues are causing them to be involved in crime will begin hearing cases on May 10, supported by expanded mental-health services put in place by the province, provincial court Chief Judge Ken Champagne, Justice Minister
Andrew Swan and Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.

The court anticipates that, as each accused mental health improves, their appearances may become less frequent, said Champagne. Upon the
treatment plan being completed, the accused will make a final appearance before the mental-health court judge either to be sentenced to a community-based disposition or for the Crown to stay the charges. The entire process is expected to take 18 to 24 months from referral to disposition.

Problem-solving courts like this help make our communities safer by recognizing and addressing the core reasons people come into conflict with the law in the first place, said Swan.

Providing the supports needed will also help lead to lasting, positive change and better outcomes for people living with mental illness, said Oswald.

The mental-health court focuses on adults with mental-health issues and is similar to the Winnipeg drug-treatment court, which attempts to break the cycle of drug use, criminal behaviour and jail for drug-addicted offenders, Swan said.

A team, operated by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, will provide supports and assessment of mental-health status, development of service and treatment plans and support and information for family members, Oswald said. The development of a service and treatment plan could include:
* community support such as basic needs, counselling and day programs;
* focused, intensive case-management by an assertive community-treatment team (as a transition to ongoing community supports);
* addictions counselling;
* employment and educational supports;
* admission to hospital for intensive assessment and stabilization;
* community service work;
* an apology to the victim or others affected; and
* involvement of family members.

Every week, the mental-health court judge will meet with the forensic assertive community-treatment team in chambers to discuss the treatment progress of each person on the docket. During the court sitting, as the Crown calls each matter the mental-health court judge will address the accused directly to encourage their ongoing commitment to their mental-health plan, Champagne explained.

Cross-training is also provided for those working in or with the mental-health court. It includes:

* education for judges, prosecutors, defence counsel, police and corrections staff related to mental illnesses and co-occurring substance-use disorders; and
* training about court and justice processes for the community-treatment team, the psychiatrist attached to the mental-health court and other related service providers.

An information session for legal counsel and other stakeholders on how the court works is planned for May 1 and it will begin to sit weekly on May 10 in courtroom 408 at the Law Courts Complex in Winnipeg.

Alcohol more dangerous than heroin, cocaine, study finds British researchers ranked substances by amount
of harm to the individual and others

By MARIA CHENG
AP Associated Press
updated 11/1/2010 2:46:35 AM ET 2010-11-01T06:46:35

Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal
drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.

British experts evaluated substances including
alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana,
ranking them based on how destructive they are to
the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.

Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and
how it harms the human body, in addition to other
criteria like environmental damage caused by the
drug, its role in breaking up families and its
economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison.

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamines, or
crystal meth, were the most lethal to
individuals. When considering their wider social
effects and harm to others, alcohol, heroin and
crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall,
alcohol outranked all other substances, followed
by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.

Devastating consequences
The study was paid for by Britain’s Centre for
Crime and Justice Studies and was published
online Monday in the medical journal, Lancet.

Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is
so widely used and has devastating consequences
not only for drinkers but for those around them.

“Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at
every football game,” said Wim van den Brink, a
professor of psychiatry and addiction at the
University of Amsterdam. He was not linked to the
study and co-authored a commentary in the Lancet.

When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all
organ systems. It is also connected to higher
death rates and is involved in a greater
percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.

But experts said it would be impractical and incorrect to outlaw alcohol.

“We cannot return to the days of prohibition,”
said Leslie King, an adviser to the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and one of the
study’s authors. “Alcohol is too embedded in our culture and it won’t go away.”

King said countries should target problem
drinkers, not the vast majority of people who
indulge in a drink or two. He said governments
should consider more education programs and
raising the price of alcohol so it isn’t as widely available.

Experts said the study should prompt countries to
reconsider how they classify drugs. For example,
last year in Britain, the government increased
its penalties for the possession of marijuana.
One of its senior advisers, David Nutt ? the lead
author on the Lancet study ? was fired after he
criticized the British decision.

“What governments decide is illegal is not always
based on science,” said van den Brink. He said
considerations about revenue and taxation, like
those garnered from the alcohol and tobacco
industries, may influence decisions about which
substances to regulate or outlaw.

“Drugs that are legal cause at least as much
damage, if not more, than drugs that are illicit,” he said.