The City of Windsor has been approved by the Ontario government to open and operate a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub.
Windsor was one of 18 locations approved on Monday by Sylvia Jones, Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
This approval comes less than four months after the city submitted an application. The HART Hub will be co-led by Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, House of Sophrosyne and the Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre, with support from the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team.
The HART Hub will serve individuals from Windsor and Essex County who are 16 years and older and who are experiencing active homelessness while also seeking support for their addiction and mental health concerns.
Last year, the province introduced new rules for supervised drug consumption sites, including banning all locations within 200 metres of schools or child-care centres, and introduced the HART hub program as an alternative.
Windsor's SafePoint site opened in April 2023, but needed provincial approval for funding the space, and ultimately they closed their doors on January 1, 2024.
Bill Marra, President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, says the province approved eight more hubs than initially planned.
"Clearly there must've been some outstanding proposals that provided some very optimistic opportunities for outcomes. And another part of this for us, we'll be collaborating with folks up the [Highway] 401. We'll likely talk to Chatham and London to see what they're doing, and share some best practices with our friends up the 401."
He says everyone will be involved in making this successful.
"It affects healthcare agencies, social services, housing and law enforcement, and to that point we will also be working closely with first responders - they're a critical part of this. The other part of this as well, we will monitor the data. We will look at key metrics, key performance indicators, so that we can measure the impact on a regular basis. And if we need to adjust along the way, we will adjust."
Marra says there are many components to this approval.
"This will add beds for recovery, for stabilization and treatment if you will, there is a homelessness piece, there's a housing component to this. If fact, the City of Windsor had to sign off on the proposal because they're the service manager around homelessness. So the City of Windsor will be engaged, the County of Essex as well. This has got to be as comprehensive as possible otherwise these resources won't be maximized."
According to Hôtel-Dieu, details still need to be finalized in the upcoming weeks, but Marra says there will be an addition of beds in more than one location.
All HART Hubs will have the goal of being operational by April 1, 2025.
Nine HART hubs were approved earlier this year, bringing the total number in the province to 27 and bringing the investment total to $529-million.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides