Aidan Jaager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
After months of waiting for government support, a Saskatoon man says he continues to be stuck in limbo, unable to access addiction treatment as his battle with crystal meth costs him his job, income and stability.
Rick Wolfe’s drug addiction has been ongoing for 20 years, starting with alcohol when he was 17 years old.
Wolfe had been working full-time for three years as a machine operator before he relapsed within the past year. With his mental health deteriorating, he decided to put his job on hold three months ago.
“For the last two years of working, I’ve been using drugs … it’s just been getting too much for me. I had to make a decision to either stop or I was probably going to lose my job soon. I made the choice to call for help,” he said.
Wolfe said he’s sent eight letters to Premier Scott Moe, MLAs and the Ministry of Health, asking for accessible and timely support, “rather than stripping people’s rights and freedoms with unvoluntary [sic] treatment,” he wrote.
“I am struggling firsthand with the devastating disconnect in our province’s approach to addiction. The stark reality is that those of us desperate for help voluntarily cannot even access it, let alone receive the basic support we’ve earned.”
Wolfe first requested in-patient treatment in early June but was denied. It offers 24-hour medical, psychological and social support in a controlled environment.
Instead, he started the outpatient treatment program in late July after a month-long wait.
“There’s some people that would not make it that long, and after that whole month I didn’t hear anything from the treatment centre. I could have been dead.”
Wolfe said outpatient treatment isn’t enough for someone who is actively using drugs.
“I haven’t made any real progress in my recovery and I am just trying to hang in there,” he added.
He then reached out to health services in hopes of getting in-patient treatment.
“They asked me if I have a place to live in … I said yes. They told me that I wouldn’t take priority because I don’t live on the streets, I’m not to that point yet.”
In the diagnosis section of his insurance form, the doctor only jotted down that he had a drug addiction.
“I’ve been battling with Sun Life and I don’t know what else to do. They are saying there is not enough information about my illness and I don’t know what I am supposed to say to these people,” he added.
The Ministry of Health said that referral forms and intake screening tools will become standardized within the next year to ensure consistent access to treatment.
“They don’t even have the infrastructure to help the people that are in need right now. You’ve got 1,500 homeless people here in Saskatoon. I’d say probably 1,400 are drug addicts. They’re going to build 500 beds over the next 10 years, so that is not going to work,” Wolfe noted.
Province says improvements are on the horizon
The ministry said they are working closely with “bed based” and outpatient treatment centres to match people with the best spaces through the creation of a provincial wait-list.
“This will be the first time a provincial list of unique individuals waiting for treatment is available to load-level across available resources in the province, verify community need and identify capacity issues,” a spokesperson wrote.
Funding and collaborating with providers like EHN Canada to deliver intensive outpatient, in-patient treatment and recovery services are among top priorities in expanding options and reducing bottlenecks in care access, the ministry stated.
It has committed to adding 500 more addictions treatment spaces across the province. To date, 281 of the 500 are already up and running, and a record $624 million will be invested into mental health and addictions services into 2026.
Wolfe wants the public to know that while he isn’t at risk of dying, he’s concerned for people who aren’t being accounted for.
“It’s time to stop the blame game and start investing in real solutions instead of flipping the script on us,” he said.
