It’s a second chance, rehabilitation and often the last stop before jail. And on Nov. 12, with $200,000 from the provincial government, Kate’s Place will remain open.
The rehabilitation centre for women was started in 2012 by the Salvation Army as a two-year pilot program. The initial two-year budget was $500,000. With help from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation and start up grants, Kate’s Place opened its 5th Avenue location.
The program has room for 11 women at a time and has had nearly a 40 per cent graduation rate for its women, making it one of the most cost effective and successful addiction treatment programs in the province.
“It helps them become the people that they always could be, if not for the drugs,” said Prairie Division West area commander Major Mike Hoeft. He emphasized the referral based program seeks to combat causes of addiction and not punish crimes.
It’s “the point where therapy meets justice,” said Associate Chief Judge C. C. Toth, adding there is still a gender gap in available service. “There was certain bed space for supervised structures for the men...but there wasn’t for the women,” said Toth.
Because of this the success rate for women was much lower than for men in the province, which is why Kate’s Place is crucial for successful rehabilitation, he said.
“Sometimes there’s nice days in government when you’re able to do nice things. This was one of them,” said Toth.
