A new Community Addictions Hub moves closer to reality for Sarnia-Lambton
It's viewed as a significant advancement in the effort to help people cope with addictions and find a road to recovery.
Now plans for a Community Addictions Hub in Sarnia are beginning to take shape.
Those spearheading the project say it’s gratifying to see that a decades-old dream is finally becoming a reality.
They know that across the country, in communities big and small, first responders working furiously to revive an individual found without vital signs after an apparent overdose.
In the week from June 27 to July 3 Sarnia reported four deaths, a troubling spike and yet another reminder about the growing challenges of drug use.
Now the community is moving forward with a project to reduce the impacts of addictions.
“Individuals can come, first and foremost, to feel safe. To feel that they have a place away from, often, a high-risk lifestyle,” says Paula Reaume-Zimmer, as she outlines the importance of the Community Addictions Hub.
Reaume-Zimmer is VP of integrated services and mental health and addictions for Bluewater Health. She was speaking after project committee members finished a meeting that outlined results of a community consultation process.
Over a dozen in-person engagements took place. As well, there was a confidential online survey made available that saw just under 200 unique responses.
Bluewater Health recently received a $12 million capitol grant and staff are now moving ahead with design and construction of the hub. It will be located in a currently unused portion of Sarnia Hospital.
The consultation heard from a wide range of voices, including those with lived experience, Indigenous community members, and those with healthcare providers.
"This new project is all inclusive," says Laurie Hicks who sits on the project's coordinating committee. She helped launch Ryan's House, a recovery centre named in honour of her son. He died eight years ago after a long struggle with fentanyl addiction.
Hicks says the new centre will offer a greater range of services.
"We will have the short-term detox, withdraw management, we have counselling services. We'll have the longer stay beds for those who do want to continue to rehab,” she says.
While the hub will be located on the Bluewater Health Sarnia hospital grounds, it's being viewed as a very distinct and separate facility.
The committee wanted to ensure clients could feel confident their privacy is being protected.
Reaume-Zimmer says the committee also didn't want it to feel like a hospital. She outlined some of the ways they are trying to make that happen.
"A lot of outdoor, kind of, 'greenspace', is what we want. With some of the programs we run right now, we've learned how important congregate kitchen and dinning is. That a lot of recovery, a lot of fellowship, happens in the kitchen right now, in our models,” she says.
The goal is also to be able to cater treatments to the unique needs of the individual; whether it be cultural considerations, personality differences, even the nature of their addiction.
"We are using medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder,” says Dr. Del Donald, a Sarnia addictions physician who sits on the committee. “It's very helpful, it keeps people in the treatment longer because they're getting real assistance with their withdrawal. Then it, hopefully, keeps them interested in receiving this treatment through their recovery."
With the public input complete, architectural designs are expected to be available in the spring. The goal is to have the facility operating within two to three years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.