WELLINGTON COUNTY – As the Guelph Community Health Centre works to minimize the impact of closing its consumption and treatment site, staff say some residents have already begun to jump ship.
During an update on Guelph's HART Hub application at a Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting Wednesday afternoon, Guelph Community Health Centre (CHC) CEO Melissa Kwiatkowski said many clients using the CHC's consumption and treatment services are "already starting to disengage" and they've seen fewer people using their services since the announcement.
The province announced nine consumption sites in Ontario – including the Guelph CHC's CTS at 175 Wyndham St. – will have to stop providing services like supervised safe consumption, safe supply and needle exchange on-site by the end of March 2025 because they are within 200 metres of a daycare or school.
The CTS will be replaced with 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery (HART) Hubs that are intended to provide primary care, mental health and addiction care, social services, employment support and increased availability for shelter beds, supportive housing and other supplies and services like Naloxone, showers and food.
"What (our clients) are taking from this policy decision is that this government does not care about us, we're going to have to find our own way to understand how we can support one another," said Kwiatkowski.
Commenting on the recent drug poisonings that occurred in Guelph outside of the CTS, Kwiatkowski said she expects there will be more demand for EMS services post-closure but what that will look like she doesn't know.
"I think we're having some early indication of what things are going to look like...we're going to see more poisonings in unsupported spaces," said Kwiatkowski. "I think we need to ensure people across the community are trained. Local businesses ... bylaw staff ... (because) there's a lot of people that are going to be part of what are going to be now responses that are going to be happening in the community, not in a contained, supervised medical setting."
To be submitted between Oct. 18 and 25, Kwiatkowski said their HART Hub application aims to address medically complex youth and adults who need a high level of service and are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity and mental health and addiction.
Intended to address known gaps in the community, the application suggests providing 1500 clients with "wrap-around support," net new permanent supportive housing and adding new treatment beds with a focus on detox, withdrawal and crisis stabilization beds.
Social Services Administrator Luisa Artuso said the net new housing to be provided depends on what $1.13 million can buy and would be offered both in the city and county.
Kwiatkowski said the timeline, available project capital and funding eligibility criteria are unknown.
A location has not yet been determined for the Hub but Kwiatkowski said they would hope to have all services co-located with integrated pathways.
"We'll really be looking at all the ways we can get people to the right level of care to match their needs supported with a team along with continuum," said Kwiatkowski.
While needle exchange will not be permitted within the HART Hub sites, Kwiatkowski said they're looking at ways to continue the service.
When asked whether the CHC would consider offering supervised consumption at a different location until the new Hub opens, Kwiatkowski said providing the services is still technically possible but would require a new funding source, federal exemption from Health Canada and a suitable location that follows provincial regulations.
"Our goal is to preserve all of these programs," said Kwiatkowski. "In the midst of a health, housing and opioid poisoning crisis, we need all the tools available across the entire continuum."
Since 2018, the Guelph CTS has supported over 41,000 visits, made 1,000 referrals to primary care for unattached individuals, connected an average of 44 people per month to on-demand addiction treatment and managed and reversed 311 overdoses.
There have been zero fatalities at the site.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.