Editor’s note: In the April 7 edition of the Rocky View Weekly, in the article “New centre in county to offer hope for recovery,” we indicated that Juan Manigault was the director of the Teen Challenge facility in Priddis. He is the former director of the Teen Challenge facility, and currently serving as project manager with the New Life Centre Society. We regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
A new centre may be sowing seeds of recovery for drug addicts on a former Hutterite farm in Rocky View County. Staff from the New Life Centres Society (NLCS) presented their vision for a future residential care facility to Rocky View council’s policy and priorities committee April 1.
The NLCS’s purpose in coming to council was to present future plans to repurpose a former Hutterite colony as a residential care facility for men aged 21 to 60 suffering from addictions to enter into a 12- to 14-month faith-based support program that enables them to re-enter society as contributing citizens.
“We’re looking for opportunities to share some ideas,” said Ken Venner, project consultant with Brown & Associates Planning Group, representing the New Life Centres Society (NLCS). “We’d like to repurpose an existing facility, there’s a real need for this facility.”
“The purpose of the facility is to help people get their lives back, to contribute to society once more,” Venner said.
The Rocky View New Life Centre would be located on a 160-acre parcel off of Range Road 21 west of Crossfield, on the site of a former Hutterite colony. The NLCS owns the land. There are a number of residential buildings, corrals and substantial agricultural buildings on site. The site has its own potable water and waste water system.
The program the men go into includes classes on social skills, recreation and character development, training in empathy, work skills, leadership skills, and preparation for re-integration into society. The program is designed to treat the root causes of drug and substance abuse, through vocational training.
“This program is voluntary,” Venner said. “These people are coming to the program on their own, to make changes in their own lives,” he said.
It’s critical that participants acknowledge they have a problem before they’re entered into the program, Venner added. No one with a violent past, a tendency toward violence or sexual violence is admitted into the program.
Juan Manigault, director of the Teen Challenge facility in Priddis, said in his experience participants in the program do so on their own terms.
“The Teen Challenge model is what we’re going to follow,” he said.
“There are 17 in Canada, the focus is on vocational and educational training.
“We are a facility of last resort.”
Venner said the NLCS has heard concerns from residents in the area, including inquiries about property values, crime and violence.
“The New Life Centre wants to ensure the community and community concerns are addressed and in a meaningful way,” Venner said.
“We’re asking council to allow the facility to plant a seed to grow into something strong.”
The society has asked the committee for an interim approval of three years, with maximum of 30 residents, which would give the society time to go through the development permit process, address site development, traffic, facility operation and management, program outcomes, community responsiveness, risk assessment and evaluation.
“We would want to have the centre operational by 2015,” Venner said.
“We would want to affect positive change in people’s lives, in the lives of families.”
Division 6 Councillor Greg Boehlke asked the group what had been done to engage the community since the proposal came before council.
Business professional and New Life Centreboard member Wayne Poffenroth said the group had spent the majority of time working through the ownership of the property, and that no other open houses had been held.
Boehlke asked if the group had any commitments from local businesses to hire the men after the program.
Venner replied that the New Life Centre would have positive benefits to the local community, including economic benefits when residents go into the community for groceries and other essentials.
He added that there are a number of machine shops on site, where men in the program could do vocational training.
The New Life Centre received a letter of intention from Olds College, to help organize and facilitate agricultural production, Venner said.
“Farmers have asked if guys are available to work for them at harvest,” he added.
The New Life Centre Society is holding an information session May 7, at Crossfield and District Community Centre from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
