{"id":589232,"date":"2026-04-08T01:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T01:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/589232\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T01:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T01:34:19","slug":"west-ottawa-hart-hub-now-open-in-bells-corners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/589232\/","title":{"rendered":"West Ottawa HART hub now open in Bells Corners"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Located in an unassuming strip mall on Robertson Road, Ottawa’s second Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub is now ready to welcome clients. <\/p>\n

“I can’t tell you how thrilled we are to finally be able to open our doors to the community that needs these services,” Tamara Chipperfield, chief executive officer of\u00a0Pinecrest-Queensway Health Centre told CBC at the HART hub’s official opening on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

The facility, led by the health centre and supported by six other community organizations, was expected to open last April.<\/p>\n

It’s one of 28 HART hubs approved across Ontario, including one at the Somerset West Community Health Centre in Chinatown, which opened last September after its supervised consumption site was forced to close. <\/p>\n

But Chipperfield said this one will be different, catering to the unique needs of residents in Western Ottawa and beyond, accepting clients from Almonte, Arnprior, Carleton Place, Kemptville, Beckwith and Spencerville. <\/p>\n

“We know the need across the city is huge everywhere, including in our rural communities,” Chipperfield said. <\/p>\n

“Visibility isn’t as present as it is in the downtown core, but we can’t deny the data which is that more and more people are showing up in ERs with alcohol use, or opioid use or other substance health concerns,” she added. <\/p>\n

Reducing barriers to access, stigma <\/p>\n

The facility accepts walk-ins from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and is staffed by registered nurses and social workers. <\/p>\n

For those in need of overnight support, the hub offers 24\/7 withdrawal management services with eight beds and accessible showers. <\/p>\n

“At the base, we are a clinic,” explained Chantel Carter, executive director of Pathways to Recovery, one of the partner organizations overseeing the hub’s services. <\/p>\n

\"AnThe HART hub is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Submitted by West Ottawa HART hub )<\/p>\n

But she says their goal is to make the space feel welcoming, and “a little bit more friendly,” than traditional health care settings. <\/p>\n

“Areas like this are underserved … and we have to rely on emergency departments or our family physicians,” added Anthony Esposti, the CEO of CAPSA, another community organization involved with the hub that works to reduce substance use stigma. <\/p>\n

Eposti said that stigma prevents many people from seeking help, something he hopes this model of care will change. <\/p>\n

He expects the hub will also reduce the pressure on Ottawa’s hospitals. <\/p>\n

A private entrance at the back of the building allows for paramedics to discreetly bring non-emergency clients to the hub, diverting them from overcrowded emergency rooms. <\/p>\n

“What we hope to create here … [is] an environment and a culture where judgment and discrimination for people who use substances doesn’t exist and people are treated in a compassionate way,” Eposti said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-589232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}