Experts raise concerns with gaps in service as HART Hubs set to open

CTV’s Jeff Pickel tells us what to expect as new HART Hubs prepare to open across the province.

Some people in Waterloo Region are raising concerns that a new method to help people living with homelessness and addiction could leave vulnerable people without the services they need.

Provincially funded Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs are set to partially open next month. They are supposed to help people find a sense of stability in their lives and receive rehabilitation treatment for addictions they may be experiencing. The $529 million plan includes a total of 27 HART Hubs across Ontario offering primary care, mental health services, addictions care, access to social services and employment support.

The Hubs will not be fully operational by their planned opening day of April 1, but provincial officials said they will have staff in place to start the process for people in need of help.

“If somebody indicates they’re ready for change, they’re ready for change at that moment. And so we really want to be able to seize the moment,” said Tara Groves-Taylor, CEO of Community Healthcaring, an organization that provides care and resources to people facing barriers to healthcare.

The Kitchener-Waterloo main office will be Community Healthcaring on 44 Francis Street South, while Guelph’s main office will be the Guelph Community Health Centre on 176 Wyndham Street North.

Concerns

The HART Hubs were announced in early January as a replacement for supervised Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) locations which were ordered to close by the provincial government.

Region of Waterloo councillors posed questions to HART Hub officials during a meeting on Tuesday as they voiced concerns the closure of the CTS sites could cause an increase in deaths, overdoses, publicly discard needed and put strain on paramedics, hospitals and police. Councillors questioned whether the funding from the province would province enough money to offer adequate services for people who are struggling.

“Would you not agree that what we’ve been provided with falls far short of what we need to do in this region, in terms of dealing with mental health, addiction and everything else,” said Regional Councillor Doug Craig at the meeting.

Groves-Taylor told CTV News they’re aware of the issues councillors brought up and are working to ease the transition.

“We want to make sure people who are currently accessing safe consumption could see themselves in the HART Hub,” said Groves-Taylor. “[That] we make it really easy for them to do so and that we let them know how to do it [and] where to do it.”

Groves-Taylor said that while the current funding doesn’t solve the issue, it should be seen as a downpayment into building a better system in the community.

“I hope that what this pilot does for us here in Waterloo region and across the province of Ontario is allow us some resources that are not currently in existence in the community,” said Groves-Taylor. “And I hope then that our funders can take that information and say here’s what we’re successful at, here’s the data to support it.”