Federal pilot aims to reduce justice-system involvement in Battlefords addictions crises

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Kent Lindgren, director of Battlefords Family Health Centre, said the initiative expands outreach work already taking place in the community and is designed to connect vulnerable people with supports earlier.

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“I think it’ll create a better approach also in working with the city where we’re able to kind of mitigate some things and instead of people being involved in kind of law enforcement or the justice system, that we can hopefully get them to the right supports when we can,” Lindgren said.  

“But corrections or policing is maybe not our first approach, even though it’s working alongside the CSO program.”  

The city is leading the project and will hire the Alternative Response Officer, while the health centre will add another outreach worker to its existing team. Lindgren said outreach staff already work with people experiencing substance use disorders by helping connect them with addiction counselling, income assistance and other community services outside traditional office settings.  

“So not as much working in a traditional office or clinical setting, but outside of the office as they need,” he said.  

The program also includes transportation support aimed at helping people reach appointments and treatment programs.

“We know sometimes transportation is a hard thing for people,” Lindgren said. “So whether that’s getting to appointments, getting places, meeting with might be attending to a treatment centre or treatment programs.”  

One vehicle will remain with the city while another will support outreach workers and drivers through the health centre.  

Lindgren said the initiative is currently funded only through the 2026-27 fiscal year and will serve as a trial to determine whether the model should continue long term.

“For us and the city, we took that opportunity to really work with them, developing something that we could implement in trial for that year and see what the benefit might be and see how, if this is something to continue past or if it’s another way,” he said.  

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com