
Logo of the Day One Society in Kamloops/via dayonesociety.ca
One of the city council proponents of a proposed sobering center in Kamloops is suggesting that if it becomes a reality, it needs to be the first step toward a new recovery facility as well.
Councillor Bill Sarai says the concept of a new detox and recovery center for Kamloops, which has been discussed for a number of years, continues to be talked about on a regional level.
“That’s the end goal, and that was brought up at SILGA [Southern Interior Local Government Association meeting in Vernon at the end of April], said Sarai. “We had a joint submission from Kelowna that we want a recovery center in the Interior.”
Sarai suggests there also needs to be easier access to treatment options.
He notes recovery facilities — such as the non-profit Day One Society in Kamloops [formerly known as the Phoenix Center] — won’t accept patients who don’t get fully sober first, then come with a plan.
“That’s where people are getting pushed back on to the street and, in some cases, giving up, cause they were ready to get help and it’s not there,” argues Sarai. “We will support this in any way the city can to make sure [that] not only the sobering center is up-and-running, [but] there’s also a back piece to it.”
At the same time, Sarai argues it should be provincial authorities taking the lead on both a recovery center and the proposed sobering center.
“We have to spend 30-thousand dollars of Gaming Reserves to do research that is probably already done in Interior Health or some type of medical field that deal with these type of issues,” suggests Sarai.
The City of Kamloops is paying 30-thousand dollars for a study to try to convince the province that Kamloops would be a suitable city for a sobering center.
“Community engagement for this project will involve bringing together community partners, including treatment and recovery service providers, Interior Health representatives, protective and emergency services, and other key stakeholders, for a series of meetings to establish a consensus-based community vision for the site and to confirm shared agreement on and support for the Day One Society as the identified operator,” said a municipal staff report issued to Kamloops council on May 30th.
The new assessment follows a similar study the City developed for a sobering center in 2015, which was submitted to provincial authorities in 2016.

Lists of associated costs laid out in 2015 business plan for a Kamloops sobering center/via City of Kamloops
That proposal failed to gain any traction in Victoria at that time.
It remains unclear at this point where any potential sobering center might be located.
However, the previous business case generated in 2015 identified the then-Phoenix Center [now Day One Society] as a likely location, given its proximity to the southwest of Royal Inland Hospital on 3rd avenue.
A sobering center would provide a medically supervised place for people to come down from their most recent stint with drugs or alcohol, rather than be cared for at the Emergency Room at Royal Inland Hospital or left to sober up in police cells.
Those who are put through the sobering center would then be given options for longer-term recovery.
There are currently 5 sobering centers active in BC, including in Victoria, Campbell River, Surrey, Duncan and Prince George.