Laval Social service workers attend half-day substance abuse conference

Support workers from the social services sector in the Laval region heard the advice of two motivational speakers during a half-day conference on the impacts of substance abuse and dependency held at the Château Royal on Nov. 23.

A growing problem
Sponsored by the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Laval in conjunction with the Centre le Maillon de Laval treatment centre and the Centre jeunesse de Laval, the event provided a podium for Le Maillon psychologist and rehab councillor Stéphane Bujold, and Pierre Lavoie, founder of the Grand Défi multi-disciplinary fitness challenge.
Substance abuse and dependency have apparently become so widespread in Laval that there are now many community-based groups in the area now that deal primarily with these types of problem.

AA and NA present
Among those who sent representatives to the conference were Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, the Maisonnée Paulette Guinois (which deals in alcohol, drug and gaming dependence), Un foyer pour toi (a disintoxication centre), Travail de Rue Île de Laval (which deals with street people), OASIS (for intervention with teens and young persons), l’Îlot (a crisis intervention service), and le Grand Chemin.

Collective effort
“Dependency is not the business of just one establishment or even of just one team, but is a collaboration of several partners,” said CSSS de Laval executive-director Luc Lepage, commenting in a statement on the various groups and organizations that are working together on the situation.

According to statistics compiled for 2008, an estimated 4,500 men and 1,600 women in Laval are dependent on alcohol, 2,000 men and 1,000 women are hooked on illegal drugs, and more than 5,000 people in Laval have problems related to gaming and gambling.