Additional rapid access to specialized addiction services in a healing environment available in Thunder Bay
By Rick Garrick
FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION — Dilico Anishinabek Family Care and Fort William opened a new Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic on Nov. 2 in Fort William to tackle elevated rates of opioid and alcohol use and support overdose prevention.
“We continue to see the impacts of opiates in our community and it is important that for the people that want rapid access, it will be there for them,” says Fort William Chief Peter Collins. “We’re also trying to improve the quality of life for people that are dealing with addictions who have kids and the impacts on their kids. Hopefully this clinic can help them in the right direction.”
Chief Collins says a group of Fort William citizens rallied together in September to demand more services to help people suffering from addiction and to make Fort William a healthier community.
“We’re hoping the RAAM Clinic can help people that want to deal with their addictions and deal with the issues they have at hand,” Chief Collins says, noting that many citizens who are dealing addictions do not have transportation or a means of getting into Thunder Bay for treatment. “If they are looking for a cure and a way out to combat their addictions, then this is an ample opportunity to access that right in their community.”
The new RAAM Clinic, located at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care in Fort William, will provide individuals aged 16 years and older from the Thunder Bay district with a confidential, safe and non-judgmental space where people receive immediate and rapid access to specialized addiction services in a healing environment.
“We’re excited about that — it’s hugely needed,” says Darcia Borg, executive director at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care. “It’s going to be Indigenous-led; it’s directly in the First Nation which is a benefit so community members don’t actually have to go off-reserve, especially during this time with COVID-19. We are an integrated service model and we recognize the addictions matter is so huge in Thunder Bay right now.”
The new RAAM Clinic brings community resources together to provide an alternative, evidence-based option that addresses addictions from both a holistic health and social perspective.
“Healthy communities and children start with healthy parents and families,” Borg says. “The leadership of Fort William First Nation identified the need for Rapid Access Addiction Medicine services in the community. In collaboration with our community service partners, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care was able to step up to provide the necessary support to launch a new RAAM Clinic.”
The new RAAM Clinic provides services through a health care provider referral or by self-referral at 807-626-8478.
“People can call and get in right away,” Borg says. “There is no waitlist — it’s basically rapid. We provide traditional healing along with physicians, a really multidisciplinary team, nurses and also medicine that may be needed for some, like Suboxone.”
The new RAAM Clinic is the third to open in the Thunder Bay area since 2018 as a local response to help address the opioid crisis in Thunder Bay.
“We are grateful to Fort William First Nation for their leadership and support, and welcome Dilico Anishinabek Family Care as a Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine Clinic site,” says Tracy Buckler, president and CEO at St. Joseph’s Care Group in Thunder Bay. “For people living with addictions, having a third site means improved access, expanded hours, and offers greater choice as to where people would like to access services.”
The new RAAM Clinic is set up to provide support for about 850 visits per month on average.