The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Bakers Narrows Lodge has agreed to donate space for a drug and alcohol rehab program aimed at northern residents. Pastors Dan Morgan and Allen Lagore, who have been fundraising to build a small rehab centre in their community of Denare Beach, will utilize the lodge until the new facility can be built. "It's a huge break for us," said Lagore. "We were always optimistic, but we knew it might be a few years until we could have our own building up and running. This gives us an opportunity to run the program sooner and at the same time continue to plan for our building." The goal is to start an abbreviated session of a rehab program in the lower level of the lodge this January. If that objective cannot be reached, Lagore said the program will get underway in September 2005. Lagore and Morgan will operate a free program called Teen Challenge, a misleading name since the facility would be open to people 18 or older. Based on Biblical principles, the program will likely accept four applicants to start, with two more spaces possibly added at a later date. The lodge has agreed to donate space for a single six-month session each year during the winter season when business slows down. If plans for a new facility bear fruit, the program would operate two sessions per year. Lagore enthusiastically praised the Baynton family, which owns the lodge, for their willingness to help people who are struggling with addiction. "The whole family has heart," he said. Lagore is now focused on fundraising efforts both to operate the program out of the lodge, located along Highway 10 between Flin Flon and Cranberry Portage, and to save up for a new Denare Beach facility. The estimated cost to operate the program at the lodge will be $2,500 to $3,000 per month. To build a new facility, the pastors are looking at a price tag in the neighbourhood of $200,000. A number of businesses, foundations, and individuals have donated thousands of dollars toward the project, and the pastors continue to develop ways to bring in revenue. One new fundraiser will allow people to bring a salvage vehicle to Alexander's Auto Ranch and have its worth donated directly to Teen Challenge, a charitable receipt provided. The problem of addiction in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Lagore said, is more rampant than some might think. "It's one of the biggest issues that we must deal with," he said. "It's across the North. It's something that needs attention." Upon their completion of Teen Challenge, participants would have the option of continuing with the program for another six months in Winnipeg. Offered at over 300 centres in 60 countries, Teen Challenge boasts a banner success rate of over 70 per cent. More information on Teen Challenge or donating toward this cause may be obtained by calling Dan Morgan at 362-2158 or Allen at 362-2105.
