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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.