Photo courtesy of: www.facebook.com/@DaveSmithPTBO
The Ontario government is bolstering its efforts to create safer communities and address addiction and mental health challenges with a $6.2 million investment in a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in Peterborough.
This project is part of a broader $529 million provincial initiative to establish 27 HART Hubs across Ontario. The hubs aim to connect individuals with comprehensive treatment and preventive services, including mental health and addiction care, primary and psychiatric care, and supportive housing.
“For the first time in Ontario’s history, we are taking a look at the entire continuum for homelessness, addictions, and recovery,” said Dave Smith, Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha. “The HART Hub is a fantastic approach; it means that we are crossing different sectors to ensure that we are providing the service where they need it, when they need it, and at the appropriate level.”
The Peterborough HART Hub will provide a range of services, including withdrawal management, vocational support, peer recovery coaching, and dual-diagnosis supportive housing. It is designed to allow individuals to enter at any stage of their recovery journey and progress through the system.
“The HART Hub investments are the right concept for the right time,” said Donna Rogers, Executive Director of Fourcast, an organization dedicated to addiction services in Peterborough. “Our community, like others, is struggling with high rates of homelessness, chronic mental illness, substance use, and poverty. For people living this crisis, housing is the solution.”
The new initiative builds on existing hub models in Ontario that have successfully integrated care and support for people with complex needs. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones emphasized the province’s commitment to improving access to mental health and addiction services, stating, “Our investment to create a total of 27 new HART Hubs will keep communities safe and ensure timely and comprehensive access to mental health support, addiction care, primary care, supportive housing, and employment services, no matter where you live.”
The 18 new HART Hub locations, including Peterborough, were selected following a provincewide call for proposals last summer. All hubs are expected to be operational by April 1st. Additionally, nine existing drug injection sites will transition to HART Hubs to align with the province’s new policy of prohibiting such facilities within 200 metres of schools and licensed child-care centres.
Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo highlighted the broader vision: “We are investing more than any government in Ontario’s history to create a nation-leading system of mental health and addictions care. The new HART Hubs will give people struggling with addiction the support and treatment services they need to achieve lasting recovery.”
