Homelessness and drug addiction: two help centers could see the light of day in Ottawa

Two Ottawa community health centers want to open a “homelessness and addiction treatment” clinic. This is a response to the province’s plan to suspend supervised consumption services located near daycares or schools.

Somerset West Community Health Centers and Pinecrest-Queensway have submitted a request for the creation of a hub offering health services, social services and addiction treatment support services as well as resources for finding housing.

The Somerset Community Health Center West, in Chinatown, is one of ten establishments in the province that will be forced to close their supervised consumption site by March 31, 2025, under new provincial rules.

The province has committed to providing up to $6.3 million annually to each of the homelessness and addiction treatment clinics, also called AIDE hubs, an alternative solution to supervised consumption centers proposed by Ontario .

The centers have not yet announced where the service points will be located.

According to Suzanne Obiorah, executive director of the Somerset West Community Health Centre, a HELP hub in the area it serves could benefit more than 1,200 people in vulnerable situations. It could also help more than sixty people find housing.

Ms. Obiorah estimates the number of users of her supervised consumption site at more than 500 and this clientele will be her priority, she says, recalling that the Center’s mission is to help people who need a high level of services.

For her part, Tamara Chipperfield, executive director of the Community Health Center Pinecrest-Queenswaysaid it submitted a request last month to open a HELP hub by next fall.

It would provide walk-in services seven days a week, including substance abuse and withdrawal counseling and job search resources.

According to Ms. Chipperfield, it was still too early to estimate the number of users that an AIDE hub could serve in her sector of the city, but she indicates that this project also aims to accommodate 64 people.

We urge the province to approve our application so that the West Ottawa HELP Hub can meet the needs of our communityshe said.

In a press release sent by the City of Ottawa, officials explain that the decision to submit two applications for a HELP hub in Ottawa is based on the size of the territory and the growing population of the federal capital.

No consumption or exchange of syringes

The Ontario government has put $378 million on the table to fund 19 HELP hubs across the province.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones has assured that the ten organizations that will be forced to close their supervised consumption sites will be given priority when the time comes to grant authorizations and funding to open a center HELP if they choose to apply.

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AIDE hubs will not be authorized to provide supervised consumption services or pre-tested substances, two initiatives that limit the risks associated with drug use.

They will be authorized to collect used syringes, but they will not be able to distribute injection equipment.

The Community Health Center Pinecrest-Queensway operates a needle exchange program and works with the province to find a solution, for example by offering this service from a location separate from the HELP hub.

The Somerset West Community Health Center is working on a plan to gradually close its supervised consumption site to ensure that no one falls through the cracks, indicated the general director of this establishment.

In a written statement, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) said support without reservation the two proposed crossroads projects to help the homeless and fight against addictions.

We recognize the need for more effective integrated health and housing service delivery models.

Premier Doug Ford has said he wants to take an approach based on recovery rather than encouraging addiction. Some critics of the plan, however, have argued that programs like supervised consumption services prevent overdoses and save lives until consumers are ready for treatment.

With information from Arthur White-Crummey, CBC