Family of B.C. man killed by toxic drugs donates $20M to treatment program

Jill Diamond says when her brother Steven was struggling with substance addiction the system meant to support him was messy and filled with delays, disappointments and waitlists.

Jill Diamond says when her brother Steven was struggling with substance addiction the system meant to support him was messy and filled with delays, disappointments and waitlists.

After years during which prolonged periods of sobriety were punctuated with the pain of addiction, she says her athletic, loving and helpful brother was put on a waitlist to see an addiction psychiatrist.

He died in 2016 from a fentanyl overdose less than a week before the appointment.

“Some people say the system is simply broken. But the truth is, the system we need doesn’t even exist,” she said.

The Diamond family, well known for their philanthropy around the province, is donating $20 million towards a new model for addictions treatment based out of Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital.

Called Road to Recovery, the 95-bed program aims to streamline the process for someone working their way through withdrawal management, inpatient recovery-focused care, transitional housing and outpatient treatment.

“We don’t want people to be forced to endure agonizing waitlists while navigating different resources at different places at different times,” Diamond said at the donation announcement on Monday.

“Instead, we aim to cut weeks or months off waiting lists within a full spectrum of treatment services all in one location — seamless, centralized — setting a new standard across Canada.”