A non-profit organization in Moncton is raising money to offer modified detox for those with substance use disorder.

Many people seeking help often face delays getting into detox through the public health sector, due to rising demand.

Hunter Smith-Fairbanks is currently receiving treatment at ShekinahGo, a private Christian-based recovery program, and says he had to wait for a spot to open up at a detox centre operated by Horizon Health, located on Mapleton Road in Moncton.

“I called them and they said, ‘We’ll call you when a bed’s available,’ and it was two weeks and a day until they called me and said a bed’s available,” he said.

ShekinahGo’s founding director, Cal Maskery, says time is of the essence when it comes to offering detox treatment.

He explained that most subtance use disorder recovery programs require participants abstain from using substances for a period of five to seven days. This means a delay in accessing detox services can delay admittance to recovery programs.

“If someone wants to come in they call when they’re high, so we try to get them in the Mapleton Detox. Sometimes the wait is two, three, four, five and even six weeks sometimes,” said Maskery.

“You lose a lot of people. You need to help them when they’re calling because it’s hard to make (that call).”

The Mapleton Road detox centre has 18 beds, and there are no current plans to add more, according to Natasha Lemieux, VP Community, for Horizon Health.

ShekinahGO is planning to open a 20-bed modified detox centre near their existing facility this summer, which would allow people to get into treatment centres more quickly.

“The modified means we’re gonna take in lighter cases. When people call, they’re just getting off drugs but it’s not severe alcoholism or benzos. Those they need to be medicated to get off. The ones that are not we can bring them into a dry period to get them into a (treatment) program. The serious cases we’ll still send to the Mapleton detox,” said Maskery.

Maskery explained that some people who don’t require being admitted to a medical detox facility will go through their period of abstinence from substance use while staying with a friend or family before being admitted to a treatment program.

He said the service they’re planning on offering would be best for people without those connections, offering a bed and a volunteer to watch over them.

He said the service will be available to men and women who are looking for treatment, regardless of whether they want to pursue their treatment program with ShekinahGO or another organization.

While the centre will be private, it will be funded by donations, which means participants won’t need to pay to use it.

A spokesperson for Horizon Health told Global News the province is currently looking at locations and options to accommodate a 50-bed rehabilitation treatment facility for those struggling with substance use disorders.