London addiction service provider pitches province to open drug rehab hub

The local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association is putting its hand up to run a drug treatment facility for people with addiction problems.

The province announced last month that it will spend $378 million to open 19 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs in Ontario. At the same time, it said it would close supervised consumption sites and needle exchange within 200 metres of schools and childcare centres, drawing criticism from a variety of sectors.

London's supervised drug facility, known as Carepoint Consumption and Treatment Services, will be spared from closing, with the prospect of a HART hub potentially increasing options for people in London with addiction issues.

"We just submitted the expression of interest yesterday," Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services CEO Pam Tobin said Friday.

"This next month will give us time to sit with partners to identify who may want to come to the table and fully scope out what that treatment looks like," Tobin said.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones has said the HART Hubs will offer forms of support, such as supportive housing, employment help and addiction care. She has also said communities can design their facilities to suit their needs.

Tobin said Friday that it is too early to say what London's will look like, and a location has not yet been chosen.  Her organization faced significant community pushback last year when it submitted a proposal to run the city-initiated homeless hub at the Lighthouse Inn on Fanshawe Park Road. CMHA withdrew its proposal in Nov. to provide 20 transitional rooms at that location and has not resubmitted plans to pursue a facility of that nature.

Still, with the announcement that the organization has pitched to operate a HART Hub, London Mayor Josh Morgan was quick to point to the work being done in the city to improve the lives of people living rough and addicted to drugs.

"I am extremely confident this application will be well received for several reasons," Morgan said in a statement Friday. "First, both the Premier and Minister of Health have separately singled out and praised London for our approach to Health & Homelessness, highlighting it as a template for the Ontario Government's HART Hub system announced last month."

Last year, the city announced it would open up to 15 hubs providing 24/7 wraparound services, and open 600 highly supportive housing units, as part of a larger community response to homelessness plan.

Two hubs have opened, with one run by Youth Opportunities Unlimited geared toward young people, and another by Atlosha, geared toward the Indigenous community. The city has also approved 143 new supportive housing units.

There are currently no plans or locations identified for the 13 additional homeless hubs the mayor and city partners promised, however, $35 million has been raised by the community to be spent alongside a $25 million contribution by an anonymous donor to support the construction of additional hubs.

The proposal for the new treatment and recovery facility will require approval from the province, and if given the green light, funding could be in place as early as December.