The City of Ottawa is preparing for the Somerset West Community Health Centre to close its consumption and treatment services (CTS) site in March.
The municipality applied for the province’s Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs funding, which is set to create 19 sites across Ontario.
“Open substance use in public spaces in Ottawa will continue unless people have somewhere safer to use substances, whether inhaling or injecting, and unless people have access to mental health and addictions treatment when they need it,” a memo to council from Dr. Vera Etches, medical officer of health and Clara Freire, general manager, community and social services department, reads.
Ottawa is hoping the province will accept its application for funding and transition the Somerset West Community Health Centre to the new program.
The centre’s CTS is the only site in Ottawa being forced to close by the province because it is less than 200 metres away from a school or a child care centre. Ontario announced new restrictions on CTS sites in August and continues to receive backlash from health experts and advocates.
The policy, that was tabled Monday in the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, will force the closure of 10 provincially funded sites and require cities to seek provincial approval before supporting new CTSs.
The replacement HART Hubs are expected to get a $6.3 million per year investment with up to $1.3 million per year just for supportive housing. The goal of the hubs is to provide people with complex health and social issues related to substance use and addictions further help and connect them with housing.
In response to the funding opening, Ottawa applied for two HART Hubs, one to transition the Somerset West Community Health Centre. The second is a new facility located in west Ottawa. The application was submitted by the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre on behalf of 25 other partners.
The application for the west Ottawa proposed site will be “competitive,” the memo notes, this is because the province is prioritizing centres that have existing infrastructure and relationships with the community.
The memo notes that due to the city’s unique characteristics and population, the HART Hubs are needed. One of the things the city hopes the hubs will support is the need for transitioning people to permanent housing. There are over 2,800 people waiting on the centralized waitlist, 400 of those are experiencing homelessness.
Housing will be primarily supported through Ottawa Salus and Ottawa Community Housing.
“These ongoing conversations will focus on inter-sectorial collaboration to optimize supports and enhance available resources and identify opportunities for system transformation,” the memo concludes.