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Barrie city council could get behind the County of Simcoe’s pending application to the province for a homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hub to respond to the community’s complex service needs, including homelessness, substance use and mental health concerns.
Council will consider a direct motion to that effect at a scheduled 6:50 p.m. meeting this evening, and that Mayor Alex Nutall provide the county with a letter of support.
“As part of the application requirements, a motion of council is encouraged to show support for the program and the application,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson, who moved the direct motion.
“We absolutely don’t want this to be a missed opportunity for Barrie, which we know supports our surrounding communities,” said Coun. Ann-Marie Kungl, who seconded Thomson’s motion.
The Ontario Ministry of Health has issued a call for proposals for homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hubs.
They are to offer services supporting the treatment and recovery of individuals with needs relating to mental health, addictions, primary care, employment and social services, plus offer a direct route to supportive housing.
The province says it's investing $378 million during the next three years to support the creation of 19 HART hubs — 10 of which are being implemented through a call for proposals now.
The ministry will fund these 10 new hubs through a budget of $6.3 million per year, per hub, beginning 2025-26 to 2027-28, and with $1.8 million per hub to support one-time startup and implementation costs.
“Provincial funding connected to this model will support our ability to move quickly and we already have well-positioned county housing developments that will provide a continuum of housing options to support one’s transition to greater independence,” Kungl said. “Broader partners have identified their support and readiness to mobilize the development of a HART hub.”
Proposals must be to the ministry no later than Oct. 18, 2024.
“I am confident our cross-sector partnerships will build true wraparound care for our most vulnerable community members,” Kung said. “And as this hub model is focused on timely, winter 2025 access, it's my hope that we will see an infusion of more direct and co-ordinated support to individuals with high complex needs first."
The province says HART hubs will add as many as 375 supportive housing units, in addition to addiction recovery and treatment beds, to help thousands of people each year transition to more stable long-term housing. With a focus on treatment and recovery, HART Hubs will not offer "safer" supply, supervised drug consumption or needle exchange programs, the ministry says.
The ban on supervised consumption sites (SCSs) within 200 metres of a school or child-care centre will result in the closure of nine provincially funded sites and one self-funded site, located in Ottawa, Guelph, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Kitchener and Toronto, no later than March 31, 2025.
A provincial funding application for a Barrie SCS was withdrawn last June when no action was taken on it for two-and-a-half years. The application had come from the Simcoe County branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Kungl said an investment in mental health, addiction treatment, housing and social services is welcome.
“I believe partners that have been dedicated to working to address challenges in these areas for a long time within Barrie and the County of Simcoe are very well positioned to effectively implement a HART hub demonstration project,” she said.
Mina Fayez-Bahgat, the county's general manager of social and community services, said since launching its 10-point homeless prevention strategy in July 2023, the upper-tier municipality has been making significant investments and enhancements to social and community services programs in Barrie and across the region.
“Two of the pillars we have created include improving safety and well-being and creating easier ways to access services for those experiencing homelessness,” he said Wednesday. “The HART hub is a new provincial program that aligns with our strategy.
“The county has not yet applied and is in the process of developing an application," Fayez-Bahgat added.
No location for a HART hub has been specified.
Last week, Nuttall and other Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) moved a caucus motion calling for legislative changes to allow for a "system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health and addictions treatment" in response to increasing homeless encampments in this province’s cities.
Nuttall said OBCM is calling on the province and feds to take homelessness and encampments "seriously" and to use the necessary legislative measures that allow for municipalities like Barrie to maintain safety and security on our streets and in our parks.
The OBCM caucus is scheduled to vote on the motion at its Oct. 18 meeting. OBCM is comprised of mayors of Ontario cities with populations of 100,000 or more and collectively, represent nearly 70 per cent of Ontario’s population. OBCM provides a voice for big city mayors in policy debates that impact Ontario cities.
The OBMC caucus resolution suggests the provincial and federal governments invoke the notwithstanding clause to prevent likely constitutional challenges and ensure "that individuals in need are able to access treatment."
The notwithstanding clause, a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability, through the passage of a law, to override certain portions of the charter for a five-year term.
Barrie has a number of homeless encampments in or near many of its green spaces and in city parks. There have been problems with garbage and litter, as well as fires in the tents and enclosures where people live.
— With files from The Trillium
