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The Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub in Smiths Falls, Ont., will open its doors to patients on Monday.
The provincial government made the announcement in the eastern Ontario community on Friday. A sister branch in Brockville will start serving patients this coming spring.
Each branch will form one half of a Lanark County hub operated in partnership with Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health.
The HART model was introduced after the Ontario government banned supervised drug consumption sites near schools and child-care centres, effectively shutting down 10 of the sites across the province.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said HART hubs will allow more people to choose treatment instead of “enabling drug use.”
According to the release about Monday’s opening, HART hubs connect people to “a range of comprehensive treatment and recovery services” such as primary care, mental health services, addictions care, social services and employment support.
‘Void’ of local services, says mayor
As in many other communities, substance abuse and mental health issues have been rising in Smiths Falls, said Mayor Shawn Pankow.
There has been a “void” of long-term services in Smiths Falls, Pankow said at Friday’s announcement. The new facility, he predicted, would help save lives and keep local families together.
“Creating opportunities for people to get the treatment they need, the recovery they need, the support they need to turn their life in a different direction is something that has been basically non-existent,” he said.
“There’s so many positives from this, and it’s such a big contributor to the long-term health and wellness of our community.”
HART hubs like the one opening Monday in Smiths Falls connect people struggling with addiction and homelessness to ‘a range of comprehensive treatment and recovery services,’ according to the province. (Joseph Tunney/CBC)
The site will offer clients longer-term, intensive treatment, followed by the chance to eventually move on to supportive housing, said Kim Gifford, chief executive officer with Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health.
Gifford said she’s excited those resources will soon be available to people in the Smiths Falls area.
“I think it does offer an opportunity to access supports, to access treatment, to access a life that they may not have ever thought they would attain,” she said.
The Lanark County hub is one of over two dozen HART hubs either currently open or set to open across Ontario for about $550 million.
There are two hubs in Ottawa, one in Belleville and one in the works for Pembroke.