Fair Havens, Bermuda's only residential drug rehabilitation centre for women, has decided not to accept any new admissions.

But the recently expanded and revamped facilities will be used instead as a recovery home and shelter for addicts who have undergone treatment at other facilities.

The charity is also set to lose its executive director, Anne Vance, who has tendered her resignation after just one year at the helm, according to a press statement released by the nine-year-old organisation.

Low occupancy levels in the facility forced the board to make the decision to close down its long term residential treatment programme, the release said.

"The board reluctantly agreed that to continue operating at low levels of occupancy coupled with no clear prospects for improvement was not fiscally responsible. Without question Fair Havens has an ethical and financial obligation to its clients, staff and donors. It is with extreme regret that the board of directors has decided not to accept any admissions into the primary residential treatment programme."

The news could be a major setback to the Alternatives to Incarceration programme which offers drug addicts who commit crimes, the option of treatment instead of prison.

While 32 women were admitted to the programme during the past 11 months, there have been no new admissions since July.

"Our ability to serve the community was compromised by far too few seeking treatments," the statement continued. "Despite initial referrals from the Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre, Fair Havens was not viewed as a facility of first choice.

"The board and staff worked diligently to understand and remedy low occupancy levels.

Based upon our experience we concluded that the deeply entrenched systemic problems and community perceptions were responsible for our inability to reach and treat many women currently in need."

The board claims "unheralded successes" with the women who completed their treatment programmes. But statistics provided by the organisation show that only eight of the 32 women who started the programmes were successful in completing them and are now leading substance free lives - the rest withdrew or were kicked out for violent behaviour or drug use on the premises.

Early this year the facility moved from Victoria Street in Hamilton to new premises on Verdmont Road, Smith's. The move expanded capacity from 12 to 18 beds and a significant number of staff were added.

In April, counsellor Chris Backeberg who, with Mrs. Vance, made a pitch for funds at a Lions Club meeting, said there was a need for more facilities and more staff as women were "lining up" to use the facility.

Mrs. Vance, who was hired as executive director in December 2001, said yesterday that Mr. Backeberg's comments were accurate then. The stream of clients started drying up after April, she said.

"As of July we admitted very few clients, then August, nothing and September, nothing. I went out and did a bit of marketing ... and we just weren't getting any clients."

She added the treatment offered was abstinence-based and quite "tough".

"They had a lot of work to do mentally and emotionally," she said.

The main component was "very intensive" group therapy which scared clients off.

"They had the fear of exposing themselves in such a manner and that happens in other countries. Until people learn about treatment and recovery, residential treatment is not viable."

Women chose instead to go abroad for treatment, to private practice therapists or to Turning Point, a facility with a three-week outpatient programme.

Mrs. Vance said she was resigning because her expertise was in primary residential treatment and the facility will be transforming itself into a "recovery home/shelter".

"And there are many Bermudians who could run such a facility. My expertise is not needed for this," she said.

She denied that the development was a setback to the Government's ATI programme because they had very few referrals from the court system. "The majority were self referrals."

Yesterday's statement praised her contribution to the centre and said she will be "assisting in our transition".

"Mrs. Vance is currently working to forge closer alliances with existing treatment agencies. The board is actively exploring with others the possibility of utilising the facility to provide continuing and after care."