Blue House helping people on their road to sobriety, recovery

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The Blue House, located on 4th Avenue downtown, houses six people and is an abstinence-based model with no drugs or alcohol allowed.

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Executive Director of the Blue House Recovery Society Sean Marshall says it’s a much-needed resource.

“I think for a long time, the focus has been on harm reduction and things like that, and I do think there’s a need for all those types of services within our community, but after harm reduction, or after a person choses to become clean and sober, that’s where, in my mind, the resources end. We’re the only sober-living centre in Kamloops,” said Marshall.

With no funding from the provincial government nor Interior Health, the Blue House is funded completely through community donations, needing $35,000 a year to operate.

“Kamloops has definitely stepped up and said this is something we want to see as a solution to the problem that’s going on right now,” noted Marshall. Previously run by ASK Wellness, the Blue House Recovery Society took over operations in January 2019.

Marshall says the ongoing opioid crisis has highlighted the need for more recovery beds. He has visions of expanding its services, but lacks the support from the province.

“I don’t think things are going to change until government gets serious about supplying these types of resources and furthering the amount of beds we have available. We would love to open a women’s house and we would love to open up more houses, but at the end of the day that requires funding.”

The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says the B.C. government recently funded 12 new recovery beds in Kamloops that are all utilized. The province is committed to expanding the number of treatment beds, announcing another $132 million a few weeks ago.

“The largest single-day expansion of treatment and recovery services in British Columbia’s history,” said the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson. “Earlier this year, we opened 100 more adult substance-use treatment beds. We’re doubling the number of youth treatment beds. That will make another 123 treatment beds in British Columbia. Already 10 of those are in Kamloops. So there’s never been a greater expansion of treatment.”

Dave Klasen is the house leader, a position filled by the most senior resident at the Blue House (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

For Klasen, who’s been at the Blue House for 18 months, the move has been life-changing with better health, employment and hope for the future.

“I’ve grown so much where I think I can basically fly [out of the nest],” he said. “That would be my ultimate goal — to finally get that one last step to living more independently and getting back to living a productive and independent life.”