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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.