Unclear when homelessness and addiction hubs will open in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie
CBC
When Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced 18 new Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs on the eve of the provincial election, she said the goal was to have them be operational by April 1st, 2025.
As that date nears, the agencies set to run two of the new HART hubs in northeastern Ontario say they are still waiting on the province to confirm funding and operational details.
"We're still waiting for all the final documents from the province so that we can really move forward," says Tyler Campbell, director of children and social services for the City of Greater Sudbury.
The municipality has been running a HART-like pilot project with 13 of the 300 or so individuals on its by-name list as it waits for provincial funding.
A by-name list refers to people who are known to be experiencing homelessness in the community.
These 13 people are currently being housed in a motel, but could move in the new Lorraine St. transitional project, where the HART hub is set to open, in the coming weeks.
That building has enough room for 40 people, but Campbell says the city needs all the HART hub details before it can operate at full capacity.
"It also depends how quickly [Health Sciences North] can ramp up their staffing," said Campbell.
As for the HART hub set to open in Sault Ste. Marie, the Canadian Mental Health Association Algoma says they are also waiting for a formal funding letter from Ontario Health.
CEO Lisa Case tells CBC they are continuing to "engage with core partners to provide updates and keep the implementation plan for HART Hub moving forward."
Asked for an update on the opening of the hubs, Hannah Jensen, spokesperson for the Minister of Health, tells CBC there are different timelines depending on whether the hub is opening in a facility that offered supervised drug consumption services before Ontario passed new laws.
Those rules banned the facilities if they are located within 200 meters of schools and daycares and prevent new ones from opening.
"Nine transitioning HART hubs are opening on April 1st, as planned, ensuring there is no gap in mental health support when drug injection sites close on March 31st," writes Jensen in an email.
She adds that the government hopes to open the remaining HART hubs, including those in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, "as soon as possible."
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