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Mom of Lower Mainland fentanyl victim opens recovery centre

Michelle Jansen describes the recovery centre she is opening in Penticton in memory of her son, Brandon, who died accidentally of a fentanyl overdose in 2016.

 Michelle Jansen describes the recovery centre she is opening in Penticton in memory of her son, Brandon, who died accidentally of a fentanyl overdose in 2016.   Photograph By Diane StrandbergMichelle Jansen describes the recovery centre she is opening in Penticton in memory of her son, Brandon, who died accidentally of a fentanyl overdose in 2016. Photograph By Diane Strandberg

The mother of Brandon Jansen, a Coquitlam man who died while in treatment for an opioid addiction, will put what she learned in two years of her son's attempt to get clean into a recovery centre she hopes will save lives.

Opening March 1 in Penticton, the Brandon Jansen Memorial Recovery Centre will provide treatment for six clients, with counselling, addiction education, skill development, wellness therapies and post-care support.

"In 12 private facilities in less than two years, I learned about what works and what doesn't," said Michelle Jansen, whose son grew up in Port Moody and Coquitlam, and died of a fentanyl overdose in March 2016 while at a treatment facility in Powell River.

In the intervening months, Jansen said, she has worked with various levels of government to develop a program and acquire property that will be located in Penticton, with further sites planned for Vernon and Osoyoos.

Patients will be treated with methadone or suboxone, which Jansen said is important for recovery and was not available to her son when he went into a treatment centre. As well, security will be on site, which she said was lacking at the centre where her son died and drugs were easily available.

A coroner's jury into Jansen's death recommended providing better access to suboxone, which is used in opioid addiction treatment, and called for improved standards and outcome measures for addicts seeking treatment at B.C. centres.

Jansen said her program, with a head office in Coquitlam, will provide follow-up care to clients after they leave and she hopes her centre will be a model for others.

"We want to give people a fighting chance to stay alive and recover from opioid addiction," she told The Tri-City News.

The Brandon Jansen Foundation is close to getting charitable status through the Canada Revenue Agency and Jansen said funds raised through the foundation will help to subsidize the cost of beds, which are $18,500 for 30 days.

Nick Jansen, Brandon’s brother, said funds to open the recovery centre have been raised privately by the family, and with donations from the Brandon Jansen Foundation.

“We have been able to save up because it is really worth it and we found out if we want it done, we have to do it ourselves,” he told The Tri-City News.

For more information, visit bjmrecoverycentre.ca.

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