Equipped with 74 beds, a male-only facility has opened its doors as Alberta’s fourth recovery community to offer free, long-term addiction treatment.

Several local politicians joined Premier Danielle Smith and the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Rick Wilson, in cutting the ribbon of the facility located at 2736 19 Ave SE on the afternoon of Aug. 21. 

“Addiction can be a dark place of despair and devastation,” said Premier Smith. 

“It brings pain to those who are struggling, and feelings of helplessness for their families and loved ones.”

The facility — operated by the Vancouver-based drug and alcohol centre, Last Door — now calls what used to be a vacant, government-owned building home. Minister Wilson said that receiving more than $9 million in capital investments made the renovations possible. 

“Our goal is that when clients leave this community, they can do so with a new purpose, and the tools they need to live healthy, purposeful lives,” he said. 

Called a recovery community, the facility offers clients a maximum of one year’s worth of holistic, individualized addiction support — including medical treatment, life skill training, and peer mentorship, according to the Government of Alberta.

Calgary’s location joins the three already established in Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Gunn. By 2027, the Alberta Government aims to develop a total of 11 centres across the province, including five in partnership with local First Nations.

Recovery facilities in Calgary: Why the demand?

Last Door’s executive director, Jared Nilsson, said that the southeast site has private and shared lodging, a dining hall, on-site medical services, and amenities like a gym and community room. 

All of which, he said, will play a role in providing addiction care that improves men’s health and ensures that when clients exit treatment, they feel prepared to re-enter areas of life like employment, for example. 

“Dignity, including a good meal, is part of recovery,” said Nilsson. 

“Here, we will deliver an evidence-based therapeutic community model emphasizing peer support, accountability, and social learning.”

Currently, Last Door is the only recovery community in Calgary, and no alternative exists that accepts female clients specifically. 

Despite women accounting for 29 per cent — compared to 71 per cent of men — of Albertans who died from opioid use in 2024, a report by Alberta Health Services noted that females are more likely to develop mental health conditions, and thus, addiction. 

“Women are just as likely as men to develop a substance use disorder and may be more susceptible to cravings and relapse,” read the report. 

Nilsson said that when developing the facility, Last Door asked some Forest Lawn residents for their input, including the executive director of the International Avenue BRZ and city councillor candidate for Ward 9, Alison Karim-McSwiney.

“Parents are often afraid to let their children walk to school because of the large and growing unhoused population being exported from downtown into our community,” she said. 

“These people, unfortunately, often suffer from addiction disorder and mental health issues, which leads to social disorder, discarded drug paraphernalia, vandalism, crime, and trauma.”

Premier Smith said that Alberta’s opioid deaths have been steadily declining in recent years, and credited her government’s actions — outlined in the Alberta Recovery Model — as having something to do with it. 

“We refuse to feed the cycle of addiction by making illegal drugs more accessible, like many other governments have done,” said Smith. 

“We’ve been focused on a new and better approach…a comprehensive system of mental health and addiction care that includes prevention, treatment, and recovery.”

Yet, an assistant professor at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine said that the province’s stance is far from fulsome, rather riddled with areas requiring improvement.

Funding harm reduction services is essential for success, says specialist

Internist and addiction specialist Monty Ghosh said that recovery communities are effective at rehabilitating addicts through employing therapeutic and life skill services. However, he said that they are just a portion of the equation. 

“There’s different aspects and phases of addiction, and we need to provide support for every one of those phases,” said Ghosh. 

He said that recovery communities are not usually as successful at treating people who have not yet let go of their substance abuse habits. 

“If someone’s still in active addiction, for example, or they’re not motivated to go into treatment, that’s when it may not be as effective,” said Ghosh. 

He said addiction is divided into four categories: active use, attempted recovery, recovery, and maintained recovery. Ghosh said that even when someone is in the recovery stage, this does not mean that they are entirely cleared. 

“People can actually relapse back into their substance use, in which case harm reduction supports are required,” he said. 

Ghosh recommended that the Alberta government put more funding toward harm reduction services to balance out the numbers allocated to recovery facilities. 

“What we’re seeing now with this current government is that we’re seeing a push away from harm reduction,” he said.

“What we really need to do is still provide this comprehensive approach.”