Two of Ottawa’s community health centres are part of proposals to open Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs, the province’s preferred solution to tackle the drug crisis as it shutters 10 supervised consumption sites.
Somerset West and Pinecrest-Queensway community health centres jointly announced their separate proposals on Tuesday. Both would seek millions in provincial funding and would work with a long list of other partners to provide health, social service and addictions supports, as well as links to supportive housing.
Somerset West is among the centres that will be forced to close its supervised consumption site by March 31, 2025 under new provincial rules that ban them from operating near schools or daycares.
The centres have not yet announced locations, saying specific sites will not be secured until they learn whether the applications are approved. The expected provincial contribution is up to $6.3 million per year per hub.
WATCH | Ontario bans drug consumption sites near schools, child-care centres:
The provincial government says it will ban supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres. Ten facilities across the province will have to close, including one at the Somerset West Community Health Centre in Ottawa.
Suzanne Obiorah, Somerset West’s executive director, said her centre’s HART hub proposal would serve at least 1,200 people. It would provide direct connections to primary care and rapid referrals to addictions treatment, and would also aim to connect 65 people with housing.
Obiorah said the centre aims to care for people “who need a high level of service.” She said supporting the more than 500 people who currently rely on the centre’s supervised consumption site will be a priority.
Tamara Chipperfield, chief executive officer of Pinecrest-Queensway, said it submitted an application last month for a standalone hub. It would provide walk-in services seven days a week, offering a mix of supports including addictions counselling and withdrawal management, more commonly known as detox.
She said people would be able to access employment supports and primary care services. Pinecrest-Queensway is working on the proposal in partnership with the Ottawa West Four Rivers Ontario Health Team,
Chipperfield said it’s still too early to estimate how many people who would access those services, though the project also aims to house 64 people through rent supplements and housing-based case managers.
“We are urging the province to approve our application so west Ottawa HART hub can address our community’s needs,” she said.
No consumption or needle exchange
The provincial government has committed $378 million to fund 19 HART hubs across Ontario. Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the funding in August, in tandem with new rules that will force the closure of 10 supervised drug consumption sites including Somerset West in Ottawa.
She said centres hosting those 10 sites would be prioritized for HART hub funding, should they choose to apply.
According to the Ministry of Health, the hubs are meant to provide low-barrier access to services for people experiencing homelessness, substance use issues, unemployment and mental health challenges.
They will not be allowed to provide supervised consumption services or safer drug supply, two forms of harm reduction. While HART hubs will be allowed to collect needles, they will not be able to distribute them, according to Jones.
Premier Doug Ford has castigated safer supply and supervised consumption as enabling addiction, and expressed a clear preference for recovery-based treatment.
But critics of his approach have argued that harm reduction programs save lives by preventing overdoses, keeping people alive until they’re ready for treatment.
Adhering to guidelines
Both Obiorah and Chipperfield said their applications will work within the scope of the province’s requirements.
Obiorah noted that Pinecrest-Queensway also runs a needle exchange and is working with the province to figure out how to continue it. That could mean running the HART hub and needle exchange out of separate locations.
Obiorah said HART hubs are only one strategy, and investment in others will be needed. Both she and Chipperfield said referrals to other organizations will be key to ensure people can still access the harm reduction services they need.
Obiorah said Somerset West is working on a wind-down plan for its supervised consumption site to ensure nobody falls through the cracks.
Two of the partners supporting the Pinecrest-Queensway proposal, Recovery Care and Pathways to Recovery, have been heavily involved in Ottawa’s safer supply program, but Chipperfield was clear that there will be no such services at the hub.
“There will be no safe supply, no needle exchange, offered through the HART hub,” she confirmed.