Campbell River’s new Sobering Assessment Centre has seen 85 people come through the doors in its first 21 days of existence.
The facility, which opened downtown at 1330 Dogwood St. on July 10 and assists people struggling with substance abuse and addiction, has been well-used so far.
Mayor Andy Adams reported at Monday’s city council meeting that between July 10 to 31, the Sobering Assessment Centre “received 85 people and were providing services to those individuals.”
Adams said the centre, which has nine beds to help those who are in the midst of intoxication and is open 24 hours a day, aims to help those who are on the street because of addiction.
“Goals for the Sobering Assessment Centre are to provide better care to persons suffering from substance abuse and also decrease the number of emergency room visits for individuals and creating an alternative to booking individuals for the common causes that they have,” Adams said.
He added that the city will continue to work with the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society, which is working with a network of services to carry out the functions of the Sobering Asssessment Centre.
“We’ll continue to work with the operators of that service, especially as we move into the fall season where there is more need to take care of those individuals,” Adams said.