Acropolis manor

There was an interview on CBC Daybreak North this morning with the lady who is circulating the petition to save Acropolis manor. She explained her thoughts and motives behind her efforts,and what she said made a lot of sense.
After her interview, there was one with a spokesman from Northern Health. This
spokesman wasted no time in saying that the building WILL be demolished to make way
for parking. He stated that the building is not up to ‘standards’ to be used for human habitation.
To my estimation, it is probably  better than a lot of people in Rupert live in, and brought to mind that there was no problem with housing people (whom I am assuming were clients of Northern Health) in the Inlander. IT must have been up to standards,
with the exception that maybe the bathroom doors were not wide enough.
The manor will be torn down no matter how many people sign the petition, but if enough do sign it, at least it will show that Rupert people don’t want these decisions made by people in Prince George.
Even before the new facility was built there were people who are involved in the front line care of the elderly and disabled that said it would not be big enough to keep up with the needs of assisted living and more complex care plus the patients from the 4th. floor of the hospital.
I hope i’m wrong but i don’t think that the waiting list for the new manor will be any shorter than the old one, and caregivers and relatives of disabled and elderly people will still be faced with the same frustration as in the past.
Maybe the day after the ‘Grand Opening’ the headline in the Daily News will be
"AMPLE PARKING AT THE NEW MANOR".

its gonna be knocked down. not much you can do just because people think there is a great use for it doesnt mean it will happen . obviously they have done studies to find it is to expensive to renovate for other uses. why not talk to one of the owners of the empty apartment buildings if this town thinks they need more housing .

i thought it was rediculous and still is where they built the college. will they ever be able to expand there? no. would have been better suited in the old bc hydro building in my opinion. that way you could have trades programs with the garage they already have there. but no they wanted to build new instead of renovating an existing building. when it comes to decisions like this its an assortment of people deciding may not be your best answer but they have their reasons

The thing that bugs me is that they dont have to spend money to renovate, it would make a great rehab or detox center, what do you need in a place like that, rooms, kitchen, common area, the manner has that in oodles. they wouldn’t have to change a thing and it is up to standards they just spent a mil plus updating it, putting in new windows. and what really gets me going is that their going to have to pay to have it demolished, clean the area, level the ground and pave it. now if thats not a waste of money i dont know what is

maybe im just biased cause im totally against the detox / rehab idea . i hate drugs idont want to support them in anyway with tax dollars. i know it sounds ignorant but thats me and my opinion.if people are serious abour rehab theres lots of them in other towns go use them

Having a building and having the resources to make the building useful are two different things. Where are we going to get the RNs, LPNs, doctors, janitorial staff, lab technicians–etc–that are all required to keep a decent detox/rehab clinic running going to come from? We already have a shortage of personnel at PRRH–why stretch resources even more thin for the few addicts that would use such a facility?

But sometimes financially it is to difficult for some people to travel to our towns for a rehab ,and some of the people do have jobs and they need these jobs, so haveing a detox/rehab in town is an awesome idea.

I am speaking form a place where if there was a out patient detox/rehab in town for people who need it that work i would use it

  Your compassion is overwhelming and just the kind of attitude that reinforces in these people with addictions that no one cares.  So, you are not in favour then of your tax dollars contributing to the sobriety, the sanity, the future of someone with an addiction.  I pay taxes also and I would rather they go to assist those in need than to keep some asshole in jail for 6 months on a drug offence who will only reoffend when released anyway.  And YES, I am aware there are no guarantees for those with addictions either, but at least with support, programs, reinforcement and a little compassion they may have more of a chance.  By the way, you don’t want your tax dollars supporting drugs?, may I ask if you, a family member or a friend smoke or drink.?  Tax dollars well spent, right? :imp:

[quote=“My Redneck Uncle Danny”]
Unnnghh! Urrrkkk! They should be locked up and detoxed and kept there until they’re cured. And then they should send them a bill for $1000 a day for doing it! Unnngggh! That’ll fix 'em up real good.[/quote]

It’s not really appropriate for patients from forth, simply because many of the rooms weren’t build to accommodate wheel chairs. Simply put, it was badly designed in the first place.

Are we talking about Acropolis or the new facility.  I am going from memory here as my mom was living in Acropolis when they were just breaking ground of the new site, about two years ago.  The intention was to move all the people from Acropolis plus the people from fourth floor.  I think that would have filled the new building or at least close to it.

While it seems a shame to demolish a building that might be worth saving for another purpose, the key point is whether we have the resources to maintain it and fill it with professional staff.  (I say this as a person who no longer has a GP)

At the same time, it would be nice to know what the long range plans are for health in this community so we aren’t throwing good money or facilities away unnecessarily.  This is true for the school board and the municipality as well.

i drink yes by my own choice but i know how to control my habits . my tax dollars do not support my drinking my hard earned money from my job does. i’d rather see something spent on preventive measures. if people can afford to buy the the drugs they know the mess they get themselves into. the arguement over having a rehab shelter needs the other side of the arguement . i know im not the only one who feels this way. put money into policing to get drugs outta town instead.

They tried that, doesn’t work, because the town up or down the line will do the same thing

I’m talking Acropolis–I might have misunderstood what the original poster was saying, though.

since addiction seems to be a medical condition, what other medical conditions do you think our tax dollars should not support?

medical condition are you serious? they are really stretching what a medical condition is with that then. since it is something brought upon yourself. its not like its 50-60 years ago where people are not warned of the dangers . maybe they need to be put thru a literacy program to read the big warnings on ciggarette boxes and beer . or maybe go down to northern health and read the flyers. what im trying to get across is i would think its a lot cheaper to prevent it thru policing and schooling.

  How do you figure your taxes do NOT support your drinking or that of anyone else?  That would only be possible if you were working under the table and paying no taxes whatsoever which I doubt that you are doing… Just wonderin’… :confused:

Obviously decker you must be  a saint no addiction issues in your life. Addicition is a disease whether it be to booze or drugs, as with any disease it needs to be treated. Your train of thought is disjointed to say the least. We do need a detox/rehab center here. The wait list for other centres is quite long. If we had one here, those in treatment could have their family here to support them as opposed to going it alone in a different town. Do you smoke … if so should we not treat you for that serious medical condition because you are a smoker?  Get with the program bud. Policing and schooling , that is like telling a heart patient not to move because they have a bad heart?!

Those whose responsibility it is to know say it is a medical condition:

Addiction: A chronic relapsing condition characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and abuse and by long-lasting chemical changes in the brain. Addiction is the same irrespective of whether the drug is alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or nicotine. Every addictive substance induces pleasant states or relieves distress. Continued use of the addictive substance induces adaptive changes in the brain that lead to tolerance, physical dependence, uncontrollable craving and, all too often, relapse. Dependence is at such a point that stopping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental reactions from withdrawal. The risk of addiction is in part inherited. Genetic factors, for example, account for about 40% of the risk of alcoholism. The genetic factors predisposing to addiction are not yet fully understood.”
www.medterms.com

While I whole-heartedly agree that education around drugs/ alcohol and healthier lifestyle choices are necessary, drug and alcohol addiction is a much bigger issue that requires a multi-pronged approach. To suggest that policing and education alone will resolve issues is rather naive. I am a little appalled by the suggestion that we should just shun those with addictions because most of us have addictions of some type most of us are fortunate enough to have ones that aren’t going to destroy our lives. We are also not at a place where we have a need to self medicate in order to find relief. There is a need to explore community solutions to combat community issues and for Prince Rupert - Substance abuse IS a community issue. Now i will step off my soap box  :-)

i dont want my opinion to run into a long running debate but . no i dont smoke , whats the actual percentage of people who have gone to rehab once and it worked for them? it is a long running costly process. yes i know people are in need of it. im just trying to see all points and why we need to spend the money on this with all points . its obvious why we need it i know that . just trying to point out rehab shelters / needle exchanges have been running for some time now in other cities . out of 100 people how many people walk out cured. maybe there is other ways to cure this medical condition. me i like to look at preventive measure so sorry for thinking schooling and policing is a good idea  :blush: . i also look at the location where people want to put a bunch of drug addicts right in the middle of annunciation , roosevelt and pineridge schools , with the low income housing not far .