Unclear when homelessness and addiction hubs will open in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie

Aya Dufour · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

When Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced 18 caller Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs connected the eve of the provincial election, she said the extremity was to person them beryllium operational by April 1st, 2025. 

As that day nears, the agencies acceptable to tally 2 of the caller HART hubs successful northeastern Ontario accidental they are inactive waiting connected the state to corroborate backing and operational details. 

"We're inactive waiting for each the last documents from the state truthful that we tin truly determination forward," says Tyler Campbell, manager of children and societal services for the City of Greater Sudbury. 

The municipality has been moving a HART-like aviator task with 13 of the 300 oregon truthful individuals connected its by-name database arsenic it waits for provincial funding.

A by-name database refers to radical who are known to beryllium experiencing homelessness successful the community.

These 13 radical are presently being housed successful a motel, but could determination successful the caller Lorraine St. transitional project, wherever the HART hub is acceptable to open, successful the coming weeks. 

That gathering has capable country for 40 people, but Campbell says the metropolis needs each the HART hub details earlier it tin run astatine afloat capacity.

"It besides depends however rapidly [Health Sciences North] tin ramp up their staffing," said Campbell.

As for the HART hub acceptable to unfastened successful Sault Ste. Marie, the Canadian Mental Health Association Algoma says they are besides waiting for a ceremonial backing missive from Ontario Health. 

CEO Lisa Case tells CBC they are continuing to "engage with halfway partners to supply updates and support the implementation program for HART Hub moving forward." 

Asked for an update connected the opening of the hubs, Hannah Jensen, spokesperson for the Minister of Health, tells CBC determination are antithetic timelines depending connected whether the hub is opening successful a installation that offered supervised cause depletion services earlier Ontario passed caller laws.

Those rules banned the facilities if they are located wrong 200 meters of schools and daycares and forestall caller ones from opening.

"Nine transitioning HART hubs are opening connected April 1st, arsenic planned, ensuring determination is nary spread successful intelligence wellness enactment erstwhile cause injection sites adjacent connected March 31st," writes Jensen successful an email. 

She adds that the authorities hopes to unfastened the remaining HART hubs, including those successful Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, "as soon arsenic possible." 

Opioid-related deaths accrued successful Sudbury aft the extremity of supervised consumption

April 1st volition people 1 twelvemonth since supervised depletion services successful Sudbury unopen down portion waiting connected provincial funding. 

"The aboriginal information pursuing the closure of the supervised depletion tract suggested an summation successful the fig of opioid related deaths," said Rachelle Roy, a caregiver with Public Health Sudbury and Districts. 

She adds, however, that much caller information is akin to the play that preceded the closure of the service, but that mortality rates won't seizure the afloat effectiveness of the work successful preventing opioid related deaths. 

"This information includes our full work area," she said. 

"The interaction of a supervised depletion tract is chiefly wrong a 1km radius of its location, truthful it's not expected to change a metropolis wide oregon territory wide mortality statistics."

The astir caller preliminary information from the Office of the Chief Coroner's bureau suggests that, successful astir of 2024, the opioid mortality rates crossed the state decreased by 20 per cent compared to 2021 levels. 

This alteration has not been felt passim the north, which remains the portion astir affected by the opioid crisis. 

For example, mortality rates successful 2024 were 3 times higher than the provincial mean successful the Porcupine Health Unit area, which includes Timmins. 

That metropolis has yet to perceive backmost connected its HART hub backing application.