Talbot House set to reopen April 15

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The addictions recovery house in Cape Breton is reopening after being closed for a year

CBC News

Posted: Apr 3, 2013 12:25 PM AT

Last Updated: Apr 3, 2013 12:23 PM AT

Talbot House in Frenchvale will reopen April 15.Talbot House in Frenchvale will reopen April 15. (CBC)

Talbot House, an addictions centre for men that shut down last year in Cape Breton, is in the final throes of preparation before it reopens in less than two weeks.

Father Paul Abbass, executive director of Talbot House, said renovations are nearly complete and staff members are being trained.

The addictions recovery house provides lodgings and support for 21 men.

“There is some orientation, special workshops for staff on crisis intervention several sessions of those and then there will be orientation of the house itself and reviewing of all our policies. But because the staffing piece, like one staff member started today and we still have one more to bring in we’ve held back on that and hopefully it will be all done next week when we have the full compliment in place,” said Abbass.

The centre in Frenchvale shut down last March after an organizational review by the provincial government.

There was a swirl of controversy surrounding the facility when Abbass resigned last winter after unspecified allegations were made against him.

The police investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing and Abbass was reinstated, but the complaint lead to a government review that determined the centre was not following proper procedures.

The Department of Community Services found multiple failings at Talbot House after an operational review last spring.

The board at Talbot House disagreed with the findings of the review and said it was riddled with errors. Still, the province said staff training and accountability needed to be approved.

After working with the board at Talbot House the provincial government said all of those problems have been resolved. It approved funding for the addiction recovery centre in February.

Abass said now it’s just a matter of bringing residents back to the centre.

“The person who started today, the senior case worker is beginning this week to contact those who have identified that they would be interested in taking our program. So he will start the process of interviewing each of the potential candidates,” he said.

He expects residents will move in gradually over the next few months.

It reopens April 15.

1 Response to Talbot House set to reopen April 15

  1. Sylvia says:

    And there you go. It’s all over and back to business as usual.

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