Frustration builds as province delays delivering new homeless hub

Andrew Lupton · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

A London MPP is accusing the Ontario authorities of "sitting connected their wallets" alternatively of flowing funds for a severely needed 60-bed addiction attraction hub for London, a installation the state said would beryllium up and moving successful April but remains without an opening date.

"It's incredibly insulting to committedness this wealth and accidental it was going to travel connected April 1 and past hold 3 months," said Terence Kernaghan, who represents London North Centre for the NDP. "These are 60 beds that person sat empty. "

The Ontario authorities announced in January that it volition open 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs across the province, including 1 successful London. 

London's HART hub is to beryllium operated by CMHA Thames Valley Addiction & Mental Health Services retired of the Salvation Army's Centre of Hope connected Wellington Street. The state has acceptable speech $6.3 cardinal a twelvemonth for the adjacent 3 years to run it. 

Province said hub would unfastened by April 1

At a quality league successful London successful January, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said London's hub would unfastened by April. 

CMHA said they're waiting for backing to beryllium confirmed truthful they tin "move guardant with hiring and mounting an opening date," successful a connection to CBC News connected Wednesday. The enactment is continuing to enactment on program improvement and different planning.

A ministry of wellness spokesperson told CBC News it is continuing enactment connected mounting up the 19 new HART hubs successful Ontario communities, including the 1 successful London "as soon arsenic possible." Nine different hubs are operating successful locations that formerly operated arsenic supervised drug-use sites. Those opened connected April 1. 

The provincially-funded HART hubs are intended to be a place clients tin stabilize and get wide-ranging supports so they tin aboriginal modulation into supportive housing. 

The state has fixed nary mentation for the hold oregon a timeline for erstwhile London's HART hub mightiness open.

Kernaghan said he's spoken with radical who've been hired to enactment astatine London's HART hub but haven't been capable to commencement their jobs due to the fact that the backing has yet to flow. 

"People are waiting successful limbo," said Kernaghan. "What bash you bash erstwhile you've been hired to a presumption and you person to beryllium and hold erstwhile the state won't get disconnected its wallet?" 

Kernaghan said he's besides acrophobic the hold successful opening could bounds the magnitude of clip the hub's services are available, due to the fact that the backing is slated to extremity aft 3 years. 

"Does this hold assistance the province's bottommost line?" said Kernaghan. "Are they going to proceed this for 3 years from its inception date?" 

The hold comes arsenic London remains successful the grip of a lodging and homelessness crisis with radical surviving successful encampments. Many of those who slumber extracurricular endure from life-threatening addictions.

Chuck Lazenby is enforcement manager of the Unity Project, a structure successful eastbound London that provides lodging and enactment for radical who slumber outside. Many of its clients endure from addiction. 

Lazenby said determination remains a large request successful London for addiction supports, but that starting a caller structure is simply a analyzable endeavour. 

"This is simply a large deal. It's a marque caller program, and there's complexities to that," said Lazenby. "There's facilities, staffing, designing programs ... I tally an enactment and I cognize however hard it tin beryllium to determination arsenic accelerated arsenic we privation to."

Lazenby said she precocious attended an accusation seminar astir the hub projected for London, and said the readying successful spot for London's hub is sound.

"I cognize CMHA is moving truly hard to get things moving and I person each the assurance successful their quality to bash so," she said. 

"We're nether a batch of unit arsenic a assemblage to bash arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin with constricted resources. Given the standard of the situation that we're experiencing, it ne'er feels similar enough."

In 2023, the City of London announced plans to unfastened arsenic galore arsenic 15 hubs nether its Whole of Community Response. However past November, Mayor Josh Morgan said he's nary longer fixated connected that target. 

London has opened 2 hubs, 1 operated by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) and an Indigenous-run hub operated by Atlohsa.