Rotary Club of Kelowna Sunrise donates $50,000 to The Bridge

Photo: The Bridge Youth & Family services

The Rotary Club of Kelowna Sunrise has donated $50,000 to The Bridge Youth & Family Services to support the Okanagan Youth Recovery House.

The investment will help youth under the age of 19 who are struggling with addiction. In British Columbia there are currently less than 50 publicly funded treatment beds for youth. In the Okanagan there are no facility-based treatment options designed for youth under the age of 17.

Sunrise Rotary has also committed funds from this summer's Interior Savings Sunrise Rotary RibFest. 

“British Columbia remains in a state of a public health emergency due to the poisoned drug supply,” says executive director Celine Thompson.

“There has been no recent addition to the province’s meager inventory of youth treatment beds and the Central Okanagan sadly continues to have no local resource for these highly vulnerable and at-risk children and youth. They continue to languish on wait lists for space to become available in Vancouver, Prince George or out of province.”

The Sunrise Rotary donation will be used to retrofit and renovate a building owned by The Bridge to provide six youth treatment beds once they've reached their goal of $1 million for operational expenses.

“We are so pleased to be able to support The Bridge youth substance use treatment program," says president of the Rotary Club of Kelowna Sunrise Susan McIntyre. 

"Some of the funds used have come from the generosity of our sponsors and the local community who have supported our annual Interior Savings Sunrise Rotary RibFest.  As Rotarian’s we are people of action, doing good in our community and around the world."