Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 3, 2007

HAY RIVER - Melvin Larocque is the executive director of the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre, the only such facility of its kind in the NWT.

From that vantage point, Larocque is in a unique position to see the alcohol and drug problem in the North.

Melvin Larocque is the executive director of the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre on the Hay River Reserve. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Each year, the centre on the Hay River Reserve helps about 200 adults referred to the centre from around the NWT, along with some from Nunavut and northern Alberta.

Larocque spoke to News/North on Aug. 15.

News/North: Have alcohol and drug problems in the NWT improved or worsened?

Melvin Larocque: Alcohol is still our primary addiction, mainly because it's so readily available to everybody. And, it's readily available everywhere. A few years ago we started getting more into the crack cocaine, and seeing clients displaying lots of crack cocaine withdrawal symptoms as they arrive here. Some of them are dealing with crystal meth.... Some of our clients, when we review applications, are saying they have dabbled in it a little bit. I don't think we've ever had a client who's heavily into crystal meth. But they're starting to experiment more and more.

N/N: What percentage of people come here for treatment for alcohol as opposed to illegal drugs?

M.L.: I'd say over 85 per cent are for alcohol.

N/N: How does this centre treat addiction problems?

M.L.: There are two different models we're implementing. One is a disease model where if you're an alcoholic, you're sick.... The other one we try to teach is harm reduction. If you're not ready to quit 100 per cent and abstain from alcohol, let's talk about reducing that harm. Maybe you can limit it to weekends or maybe to just two nights out of a whole week.... Our treatment program focuses on the medicine wheel. We talk about the holistic approach to healing, the physical element of your addiction and how it harms your physical body, the mental effects of your addiction - we call it "stinkin' thinkin'" - and all your reasonings and justifications of why you should be drinking. We also get into the emotional stuff and we talk about how your addiction is helping to cover up a lot of your issues that you should be dealing with, whether it's physical abuse, child sexual abuse, residential school syndrome, all of those things. Alcohol numbs the pain of that.... And then the last component is we talk about the spiritual life of a client, whether it's native spirituality, Christianity, Buddhism or whatever.

N/N: What is the success rate of people coming here and how do you measure success?

M.L.: Our success rate is by word of mouth. The community workers call back and say this person went and is still doing good and it's been three years. Those things we hear about. So measuring success is quite difficult.... The most successful communities would be the ones that have very vocal elders, very supportive elders. They really support the healing program. In some communities, for example, when a client comes home from treatment, some of the caregivers in that community would go to that client's home before they arrive and they would do the housekeeping and make sure there are groceries in the fridge and everything is ready for them to come home.

N/N: Are there any success stories that stand out for you?

M.L.: I believe it was last summer we celebrated one of our client's 10 years of sobriety. That's really nice. But it's one thing to abstain from alcohol and drugs, it's another thing to actually live a healthy lifestyle. There are all kinds of successes. There's the abstinence success and then there's actual living that life success.

N/N: For somebody to defeat an addiction, whatever it may be, is it something the person really has to commit to doing?

M.L.: It's a hard, hard journey. I've dealt with lots of my personal stuff from my childhood and my teen years and stuff. And the only way I was successful is I was on top of it all the time. And it's constant.... I've been sober for just over nine years. It's not an issue for me anymore. But it took maybe seven years before I realized it doesn't bother me as much anymore. It's a constant. And nobody is going to do it for you. You have to do it yourself and you have to be willing to fight that battle, because it is an uphill journey for a long time.

N/N: Did you come to this centre for treatment?

M.L.: No. I was sober prior to working here.

N/N: Do the territories need more of these treatment centres?

M.L.: I don't think our population justifies that. This current group, we saw 15 people arrive and we're down to 13 now. We're funded for 30 beds, but we're funded for 30 beds if we have 30 people. If I get 15 people, I'm funded for 15 people, for example.

N/N: So the centre is not constantly full?

M.L.: Not at all, and there's no waiting list. We have block programming. The only waiting list is for our block programming. We start a program on a certain date and once that starts no one is allowed to come in and interrupt that until those 28 days are complete. Then we have another intake date. So if you miss a program by two weeks, then you have to wait until the next program. That's the only waiting list we have.

N/N: What would be the average number of clients here at any one time?

M.L.: We've been anywhere in the range around 15.

N/N: What does that tell you? Are not enough people taking advantage of the treatment available here?

M.L.: Our numbers used to be quite high, but the government implemented the mental health and addictions strategy.... What that means now is you don't have a certified counsellor in a community. Now you have someone with a degree in mental health and addictions specifically trained in that area. My perception is those people are doing their jobs well in that they can deal with the addict at the community level, instead of always sending them here.

N/N: What is the percentage of men and women seeking treatment?

M.L.: The majority of our clients are women.... That's why we offer women-only programs. We try to offer them around a community's life cycle. We don't want women to come here for a women-only program while kids are just starting school or things like that when they're needed most.... This is just off the top of my head, but I would say 65 per cent are women.

N/N: Why are there mostly women here for treatment?

M.L.: Women are more free to deal with their emotional issues. Men have never been trained to talk about their feelings. You know - shut up, don't cry, that's inappropriate, act like a man. That stigma is still there. The men who do come through are those men who are healthy enough to deal with their emotions.