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
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.