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By CHUCK POULSEN The Daily Courier  Tyrone Barry gets ready to move on Tuesday. Behind him, are parents Ron and Nola Barry. The Ministry of Children and Families has recommended Tyrone join the independent living program, living on his own with a rent and food allowance, even though he has addiction problems to overcome. A 16-year-old Kelowna boy who is a threat to himself and, potentially, the public may soon be living on his own if officials at the Ministry of Children get their way. "We want him to get into a residential treatment centre, but all the ministry is saying is 'take him home or we'll put him into independent living,'" said the boy's mother, Nola Barry. "Their plan to have him live on his own is detrimental to his health and well being, as well as the community's safety." The boy, Tyrone Barry, is one of three native Indian siblings adopted by Nola and Ron Barry. He and his siblings were born with fetal alcohol syndrome and Tyrone has since become a drug addict. He's had many scrapes with the law. Nola said that at one point he assaulted his younger sister, which led him to a string of foster homes. "When he lived in a foster home in the Mission things got so bad that the neighbours were phoning the ministry and demanding that he be removed from the area," said Nola. "We can't keep him with us because he's a danger to his siblings." The Barrys think the situation is so perilous that Ron moved away from Nola and the other kids on Tuesday and took Tyrone with him. "So Ron and I have to live separately," said Nola. "It's traumatized the whole family. We've just had enough." Nola says Tyrone is ready to give clean-and-sober a try. "He's trying harder than ever. All he can say is how sorry he is. But if he's forced to return to the downtown core, he'll be back on the streets 'using' by dinner time. And through all this the ministry has refused to fund residential treatment at every request." The independent living arrangement was a pilot project for Kelowna. It's now spread to other parts of the province as an option for the most difficult youths who won't stay in foster homes. The ministry pays for food and rent, supplying maybe two hours of counselling care a week. Dr. Christine Loock, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UBC who has assessed Tyrone, agrees that independent living for Tyrone is a danger to the community and could cost Tyrone his life. "With Tyrone's history of significant maternal substance use, his disrupted early life experiences É and his current maladaptive behaviors as described to us by his mother, we are very concerned about the plan to allow Tyrone to live independently," she says. She adds that such a plan may lead Tyrone to "homelessness, joblessness, addiction, mental health problems, early mortality and trouble with the law." Tyrone says he would welcome a residential treatment program. In a letter to The Daily Courier, which his mother says he dictated to her, Tyrone says: "I am not a write off. I want to live a normal life. I want to stabilize, finish my education and live in a good environment. "I need drug/alcohol residential treatment where I can be away from my peer group. I need to get away from that lifestyle. I want to be able to return to Kelowna after treatment and live a different lifestyle. I know it's going to be hard work for me, but I want to do it." The ministry has a policy of never commenting on individual cases.
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