First Nation in Ontario has no space for alcohol-drug detox centre, so dozens being helped at a hotel [Video]

Community support worker Kyle Arnold says detoxing from drugs is one of the hardest things he’s ever done, but seeing dozens of members of Long Lake #58 First Nation going through withdrawal together in a safe space “is absolutely beautiful.”

Long Lake #58 is an Ojibway community about 300 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont. On Friday, 42 of its members arrived at the NorWester Hotel and Conference Centre — which is partially owned by the First Nation — to participate in a 10-day detox program.

The community has booked more than 50 hotel rooms, where participants receive on-site medical and social support and hourly room checks, as they go through withdrawal from alcohol or drugs and prepare for a full treatment program. 

“Generally when people go into a detox … it’s with strangers. This, they’re here with family members, with community members, with people they grew up with,” said …