RED LAKE –The Safe Bed Program in Red Lake aims to provide temporary housing for those struggling with their sobriety and mental health while they are in crisis.
“Safe Bed is a voluntary base where individuals in mental health and addictions crisis can stabilize, access support, and connect with resources within the community,” Marcia Scarrow, Director of Community Programs, Red Lake Margret Cochenour Memorial Hospital explains. “Residents of Safe Beds typically can’t stay in their current environment, but they don’t require hospitalization.”
The program adds additional support to the community by relieving some of the stresses on the hospital system and in the home. Those individuals in crisis may need a visible support system to help them pull through those addiction urges or debilitating thoughts. Family members and friends can’t always be on hand to perform a wellness check, and at times, the individual might need help from a medical professional.
The hospitals, on the other hand, can meet the needs of those in crisis, but time is finite.
“In Red Lake, we had a major gap,” said Scarrow. “Anyone in mental health and addiction distress has typically been taken to the hospital for stabilization and support, even though they might not require that level of intervention.”
Hospitalization is typically reserved for those who need extensive medical assistance such as the use of life support, cancer treatments, and obstetrics. The hospital has a limited number of beds and sometimes those beds need to be free for those needing intensive care. An influx of people with mental health and addiction distress might not receive the level of support they need in a hospital setting, where the main focus is many different types of medical needs.
This isn’t to downplay the seriousness of those who are in mental health and addiction crisis, and the role the hospital plays in providing care. For those seeking mental health and addiction support the hospital is a necessary step in the get the help they need.
However, recovering from mental health and addiction is a lengthy process, which needs a different type of focused approach that mental health care professionals can apply through the Safe Beds Program. The Safe Beds Program is a place where those in crisis have a stable safe environment with access to counselling services.
“Save Beds offer a level of support that is different from the hospital in that there is no medical care available,” Scarrow states. “It is truly voluntary and individuals go through an intake process to be admitted.”
Scarrow describes a few different ways people can access the program.
“Our mobile crisis team will be the main point of access,” said Scarrow. “Simply because they typically are in contact with individuals in mental health and addiction crisis. They will conduct an assessment and make a formal referral to the Safe Bed Program. The Police and Hospital are also other points of access given that they are often in contact with individuals in crisis as well.”
Those individuals who are put through the intake process are first evaluated by the Safe Beds Crisis Team. Scarrow explains that “Individuals must be drug and alcohol-free at the time of admission,” and must not be at risk of harming themselves and others.
For those who don’t meet those requirements, Scarrow explains that those individuals would be referred to a higher level of service through the hospital and health care services.
Through the evaluation, the team will access the individual level of care by talking with the individual about their readiness for the program.
“They must be willing to participate in all of the programming available through the Safe Beds Program,” said Scarrow. “And that is what the Crisis Teams can evaluate and access when they meet with someone.”
Once the Crisis Team access individuals and they are admitted to the program, individuals are able to stay up to 30 days in the facility.
“That doesn’t mean that all lengths of stay will be 30 days,” Scarrow acknowledges. “It just means that individuals have up to 30 days to participate in all the counselling and life skills training that we’ll provide.”
While in the program, individuals will meet with a Safe Beds manager and mental health and addictions councillor who will provide group and individual counselling. There will also be a residential support worker that will provide the life skills training. Life skills training includes learning how to cook, clean, hygiene, and general maintenance of the home.
“Having counselling on site and supporting people in developing structure in their day have been two pieces that are important for the program,” said Scarrow.
Scarrow also explains that connecting individuals with community service providers, “so then they do leave they have more supports than they had when they came in” is an important step for the individual during and at the end of the program.
Supports like social assistance programs that offer additional counselling services, employment, affordable housing, or disability which would help these individuals fulfill many different needs.
“For a long time, Red Lake has really had to rely on the hospital to support individuals in all kinds of distress,” said Scarrow. “Safe Beds will fill a gap in our community offering safe and supportive care for people that really do not require a hospital stay.”
The Safe Beds Program is anticipating opening the facility in early 2023.
