The provincial government shared new details Monday about its $529 million plan to open Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs across Ontario.
Nine cities were told last year their Consumption & Treatment Services (CTS) sites had to close due to their proximity to schools and daycares. Then, earlier this month, the province announced CTS sites in Toronto, Kitchener, Guelph, Ottawa, Hamilton and Thunder Bay would be replaced with HART Hubs.
The government has now revealed the locations of 18 additional HART Hubs. That would bring the total to 27, eight more than initially planned. The full list is below.
“The new HART Hubs will give people struggling with addiction the support and treatment services they need to achieve lasting recovery,” Michael Tibollo, the associate minister of mental health and addictions, said in a media release.
The province has promised the HART Hubs will offer primary care, mental health services, addictions care, access to social services and employment support. They also said, across all 27 locations, there would be 540 supportive housing units and addiction recovery and treatment beds.
Critics have voiced concerns about the ability of HART Hubs to adequately address the drug crisis. One problem, they say, is the lack of access to clean needles.
Ontario’s auditor general has also questioned the government’s decision to shut down CTS sites, previously citing the ministry of health’s failure to “develop a comprehensive plan to assess and quantify the impacts,” including possible increases in overdoses and emergency department visits. The report also noted that the province did not conduct formal consultations with affected stakeholders, including those who use the CTS sites.
The province said all HART Hubs are expected to be operational by April 1, 2025.
Previously announced locations
- Toronto (Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Toronto Public Health’s The Works)
- Kitchener (Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, 44 Francis Street South)
- Guelph (Guelph Community Health Centre, 176 Wyndham Street North)
- Ottawa (Somerset West Community Health Centre)
- Hamilton (Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre)
- Thunder Bay (NorWest Community Health Centres)
New locations
- Fourcast – Four Counties Addictions Services Team (Peterborough)
- CMHA Peel Dufferin (Brampton)
- Health Sciences North/ Horizon Santé Nord (Greater Sudbury)
- The HART of Simcoe (Barrie)
- Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (Windsor)
- CMHA Hastings and Prince Edward County (Belleville)
- Durham Community Health Centre (Oshawa)
- CMHA Thames Valley (London)
- CMHA Algoma (Sault Ste. Marie)
- Services and Housing in Province (Dufferin County)
- Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (Lanark, Leeds and Grenville)
- Oxford Ontario Health Team (Woodstock Hospital)
- County of Renfrew (Renfrew County)
- Gateway of Niagara (Niagara)
- CMHA Lambton Kent Sarnia (Sarnia)
- Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre (Ottawa)
- Kenora Chiefs Advisory (Kenora)
- Maamwesying (Sault Ste. Marie)
