Ontario's homelessness and recovery hubs offer health care, community and hope

Two pregnant women who would otherwise be living in a cold tent. A man whose leg wound was so bad it required intravenous medication. Two young people who no longer need to couch surf to get by.

Those are some of the people now living in London's homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hub, which opened two months ago.

"We have 33 beds and they're all spoken for. Everybody is moving in, getting to know each other, creating a sense of community, helping each other," said Carlos Buschinelli, who oversees the London site.

"The fact that we have 33 individuals who are making the choice to work on their wellness and work on recovery, to get better for themselves and achieve housing at the end of their journey is a success in itself."

The London site alone has had almost 300 calls in December from people saying they want to join the provincially funded recovery program, said Buschinelli.

The province has opened 23 HART hubs across the province, with five more scheduled to open in 2026, a ministry of health spokesperson told CBC News.

The hubs are meant to be a one-stop shop for people struggling with addictions and mental health issues, as well as homelessness.

"Ontario Health gave each community a lot of flexibility to work with the need of that community," Buschinelli said. "You have this huge catalogue of supports, from clinicians to psychiatrists and counselling, withdrawal management, all under one room."

The London site includes a "buddy system" for accountability for at least the first two weeks that a person is in the hub, Buschinelli said. People in the program who want to go to Tim Hortons or an appointment go with a buddy to keep them accountable and out of trouble, he said.

"What's surprised me the most is how quickly people wanted to get to know each other, to start building relationships," Buschinelli said. "We have lounges and a lot of times, people are spending time there doing arts and crafts, hanging out, playing games, just talking. Folks are creating their own groups for support within the floor."

While the London location is within the Salvation Army's Centre of Hope shelter, Windsor's is within the Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. It has connected people with family doctors, dental benefits and legal matters.

"It's a voluntary program and the fact that it's voluntary and that we're filling up our beds is a good early indicator," said Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare CEO Bill Marra.

About 92 per cent of people who have come in to the HART Hub have been assessed and diverted away from the traditional ER, said Marra.

The hubs are in part meant to replace supervised consumption sites in some cities, and are a way to deliver care and support for vulnerable people, said Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.