In a few days, some of Ontario’s homeless and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hubs are set to open.
But the three slated for northern Ontario are still waiting for funding, and an exact opening date is still unknown.
The second round of HART hub announcements took place two months ago, with the province earmarking $550 million for 28 sites.
Each hub will provide a range of services for homelessness and addiction treatment.
The three hubs approved for the northeast will be run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in Algoma, Maamwesying along the North Shore, and Health Sciences North in Sudbury.
Connecting the dots
“Work with the on-site services, with the Community Resource Centre available now and connect them very strongly with things like the Community Wellness Bus, the Downtown Ambassador program, mobile crisis services through … hospital withdrawal management, both residential and mobile," said Lisa Case, from the CMHA Algoma.
“Really, connect the dots on a number of those services and be able to offer them in a more fulsome way.”
Officials said they are waiting on formal funding letters from Ontario’s Ministry of Health to move forward with the projects.
CTV News inquired about those timelines, with a ministry spokesperson offering this statement.
“The nine transitioning HART Hubs, are opening April 1, as planned, ensuring there is no gap in mental health support services when drug injection sites close on March 31.
Comprehensive health services
“Our government is continuing to work with the remaining HART hubs to bring new, safe and comprehensive mental health, social and addiction services, as well as supportive housing units, to 18 communities across the province, as soon as possible – this includes working with HART hubs partners on their operational budgets.”
In the meantime, local officials are preparing as much as they can.
“We’ve been meeting as core community partners, really taking a look through, making sure all of our partners are aware of the proposal that we put in,” Case said.
They have been reviewing “what the expectations are, how do we set up, what’s working now, what we want to do differently, giving everybody an opportunity to contribute and pulling together that core team provincially.”
