Yorkton to receive funding for mobile withdrawal management program

Saskatchewan is investing in a new mobile withdrawal management program in Yorkton, part of a broader plan to add 500 recovery spaces across the province.

On Tuesday morning, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Lori Carr announced $753,000 dollars in annual funding for a mobile withdrawal management program in the Yorkton.

The announcement was made at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre just before noon.

The funding will go to the Medavie Health Services West Mobile Withdrawal Management Program to help manage with addictions and overdoses.

“This new annualized funding from the province will support 15 withdrawal management spaces right here in Yorkton,” Carr said.

The minister said the program is part of Saskatchewan’s Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan.

“We introduced the action plan in October of 2023 with a commitment to add 500 addiction recovery spaces across the province, including these 15 with Medavie,” Carr said.

Angela Sereda, senior operations manager with Medavie Health Services, said the program is designed to meet people wherever they are in their recovery journey.

“When someone is ready to take that step toward recovery, that moment really matters,” Sereda said in her speech.

“It can’t be weeks from now, somewhere far away, or in a way that asks them to leave everything behind. [The program] has to meet them where they are in their life, in their community, and on their terms. That’s what this program does.”

The new spaces are expected to provide care closer to home, supporting individuals, families and the broader Yorkton community.

Zoe Teed McKay, executive director of Mental Health and Addictions Services with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, says the program adds another option within a broader system of care.

“Mobile withdrawal management is one part of a broader continuum of addictions care, offering people more choice based on what they need, what they want and what they feel ready for in their recovery,” McKay said.

”We know many individuals and families in our communities are looking for support for addictions and related mental health challenges. And our focus is on making it easier to access that help when and where it’s needed most for many.”

Minister Carr said the government will measure the success of its recent investment based on longevity.

“The success will be any person that completes a program and is able to move back to their communities [and] live those healthy lives,” Carr told CTV News.

Paramedics and the City of Yorkton have both welcomed the announcement.