B.C. detox centre mistakenly gives away woman’s ID, bank cards: ‘my whole life’

When Shuswap resident Jenni Broscheit realized she needed help, she checked into a detox centre in Kamloops.

However, while she was getting better, the Phoenix Centre made a mistake and gave away her personal belongings, she said.

“My cell phone, my credit cards, ID, bank cards, everything personal, my whole life,” Broscheit said.

Her cell phone had special pictures of her mom on it that are irreplaceable, she added.

“They told me they had given away all of my personal belongings to somebody else that checked out.”

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“This is not supposed to happen,” Broscheit said.

Broscheit said when she checked into the facility, staff took her personal belongings, made a note of them, and locked them up.

“They were doing a bunch of renovations, but I trusted them with all my personal belongings,” she said.

“When you show up to detox you’re not normally 100 per cent sober. I went in there to get better.

“I trusted them with my life, and they gave all my stuff away.”

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Broshceit said the facility originally offered her $750, and then doubled it the next week.

2:53 Shuswap woman ‘devastated’ after detox facility gives away her possessions

“I don’t think that’s good enough. They gave my identity, everything away,” she said.

Broscheit said she’s since had to replace all the cards in her wallet and get a new cell phone.

“I had to cancel everything,” she said.

Sian Lewis, the Pheonix Centre’s executive director said the mix-up was the result of a “human error” and the centre has improved its systems following an internal investigation of the incident.

“We apologize for this error and will continue to work with Jennifer to resolve this situation to the best of our ability,” Lewis wrote, in an email to Global News.

Lewis confirmed the centre is offering Broscheit compensation but would not say how much.

The executive director also would not say whether any staff members had been disciplined as a result of the mistake. On that point, Lewis said the centre has “dealt with staff internally and taken appropriate steps.”

Lewis added that the centre is trying to find the missing items in the community but, so far, has not been able to recover them.

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