The province has officially launched a Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in St. Catharines, part of the Ford government’s overall plan to replace safe injection sites with treatment centres throughout Ontario.
Those attending the official ribbon cutting ceremony included Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Vijay Thanigasalam, Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, as well as Regional Councillors Pat Chiocchio and Joyce Morocco, Co-Chairs of the Public Health and Social Services Committee of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
“We are building a stronger, more connected system of mental health and addictions care that better reflects the needs of communities and focuses on lasting recovery,” said Thanigasalam. “The opening of this new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Hub in St. Catharines will help ensure that people struggling with mental health and addictions challenges in Niagara can access services that prioritizes their path to recovery and strengthen community safety.”
According to a media release, HART hubs connect those in need with a range of care options, including comprehensive treatment and recovery services through primary care, mental health services, addictions care, social services and employment support.
Siscoe issued a statement regarding the opening of the local HART hub.
“As Mayor of St. Catharines, I have seen firsthand the toll that addiction and homelessness have taken on our community and for too long municipalities like ours have been left to manage the impacts without the full tools to support recovery,” said Siscoe. “The opening of this new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub is a meaningful step forward, bringing together treatment, housing and wraparound support with a clear focus on recovery and community safety.”
Gateway Residential and Community Support Services will be the lead agency for the Niagara HART Hub and will deliver services by partnering with other local organizations, such as Niagara Region Mental Health, Regional Essential Access to Connected Care, and Community Addictions Services Ontario Niagara, among others.
“The opening of our new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub represents a major step forward in how we support individuals experiencing homelessness with complex addiction and mental health needs,” said Margaret Beapre, Executive Director of Gateway Residential and Community Support Services. “By bringing partners together under one coordinated system of care, we are removing long-standing barriers and ensuring people can access help and housing when they need it most. This hub is about creating lasting pathways to stability, dignity and well-being for our community.”
Earlier this month, Niagara Region’s only remaining safe injection site, Positive Living Niagara, was informed by the Ford government that its funding would be cut off within 90 days. Because Positive Living Niagara’s funding is 100 per cent derived from the provincial government, the injection site plans to close.
Safe injection site advocates have warned that closing these sites will cost lives, while advocates of the HART Hub approach have said breaking the cycle of addiction must be the top priority.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
