Windsor's mayor is praising a decision by the province that will see consumption and treatment service sites come to an end and be replaced by homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs.
Drew Dilkens says it's something that aligns well with the H4 model the city is trying to make permanent in the west end.
The Ontario government announced Tuesday that it will ban consumption and treatment services sites within 200 metres of schools and child care centres, which will lead to the closure of 10 facilities.
Funding will also not be provided for any new sites, which means the SafePoint CTS site at Goyeau Street and Wyandotte Street in Windsor will not reopen, as it never received provincial operating funding.
The province will also introduce legislation in the fall that would prohibit municipalities or organizations from launching new consumption sites or participating in the federal government's safer supply program that sees prescription medication given to people instead of drugs bought off the street.
On Jan. 1, 2024, SafePoint services at 101 Wyandotte East were paused as the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit awaited the results of the provincial critical incident review and funding approval to operate the site.
"As opposed to setting up million-dollar facilities where you're allowing people who are addicted to come in and do drugs," he says. "I was never in favour of that; I couldn't understand that approach because we always had the issue of people wanting or needing help; it would take them six weeks or sometimes months to be able to get that help."
The government will invest $378 million in 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs.
The hubs will be designed to provide people with comprehensive treatment and preventative services, including primary care, mental health services, addiction care and support, social services and employment support, shelter and transition beds, supportive housing, and other supplies and services, including naloxone, onsite showers, and food.
Dilkens says the hubs are all about having wraparound services, which is exactly what they're talking about putting in the H4 model.
"They're talking about transitional housing and working with existing providers. So you may have other providers in the community; it could be Brentwood, it could be House of Sophrosyne, or it could be other providers that you want to work with but maybe just need the operating dollars to make it work. Today's announcement actually has a pathway to get those operating dollars into the community for the people who need it," he says.
Dilkens believes this announcement is important because it provides operational funding for the hubs, which can be challenging to secure.
"To see the government move forward and say we are going to see over $300 million worth of investment in this space in operating dollars, is hugely impactful and will make a difference in all communities throughout the province. We will certainly be looking at and evaluating the application process for the HART hubs," he says.
The seven acre site is expected to include enough space to develop at least 64 one-bedroom permanent supportive housing units, common spaces for programming, services, and other amenities.
The city is operating the existing H-4 at the former Windsor Water World site downtown.
The city will be seeking provincial and federal financial assistance to establish the new H4, which is expected to cost around $60 million.