TIMMINS - Plans for a full-service wellness centre in Timmins are taking shape.
Today, the Cochrane District Services Board (CDSB) announced it is acquiring the Ramada Inn located at 1800 Riverside Dr. in the west end of Timmins to create the Timmins and Area Wellness Centre of Excellence (WCE) - Health Hub.
The goal is to create a centralized service hub offering mental health and addiction treatment services and transitional housing support.
“It will be a safe and secure facility to protect those it serves and the community,” said CDSB CAO Brian Marks in a virtual news conference.
The facility is still operating as a hotel today.
The sale of the over 100-unit hotel is not finalized yet and the closure date on the deal is being determined, he said.
Under the plan, Living Space would continue as a low-barrier shelter.
“Many people are not only interested in what (WCE) will be, but definitely interested in what this won't be, and it will not be an emergency shelter,” said Marks.
It also wouldn’t allow supervised consumption on site or hand out harm reduction supplies.
It would offer education, education, training, and community development.
The proposed facility includes counselling rooms, Indigenous healing spaces, cultural teaching areas, and communal skills development spaces for clients.
A private courtyard, kitchen, dining facilities and potential for further development in the ballroom and surrounding land are other features noted by CDSB director of health Jean Carriere, who has been seconded from his role as chief paramedic to lead the project.
“These amenities will not only improve the quality of life for our clients but also offer opportunities to deliver land-based services that are culturally significant and vital to our community. We anticipate several positive outcomes from this initiative, including smoother transition to permanent housing, a reduction in 911 calls and fewer emergency room visits,” he said.
In the past decade, Marks said the needs of people served by CDSB — which used to be known as the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board or CDSSAB — have become more complicated.
A co-ordinated service system and a place to deliver those services, he said, are two very large pieces missing in the local service system.
One way leaders in the area were working to fill a service gap is through a safe consumption site (SCS).
A year ago, Safe Health Site Timmins (SHST) received federal approval for a permanent facility. That allowed the organization to apply to the province for funding. However, applications for new sites were already paused at that level to allow for a review of the facilities after a woman was hit by a stray bullet and killed outside of a Toronto SCS site.
SHST permanently closed in August, though it wasn’t offering supervised consumption services by then.
SEE: Safe Health Site Timmins facility fully closed
RELATED: Ford closing 10 supervised consumption sites, ban new ones in favour of 'hub' model
Shortly after the doors shuttered, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced a new direction.
The province is creating 19 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs.
The CDSB had a delegation advocating for the WCE at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference, where Jones made the announcement.
It's unclear if there may eventually be more than 19 hubs. Jones said the government will start with that number before re-evaluating. Applications for HART hubs are now open.
The provincial goal is to have the HART hubs open in the winter of 2025.
While there’s no set date for when the Timmins WCE will open, if there’s a quick turnaround on the application Marks said it could be operating by January 2025.
If provincial funding doesn’t come through, he said CDSB may look to sell the facility in 12-18 months.
The CDSB's provincial funding application for the WCE is over $4.4 million annually from the Addictions Recovery Fund (ARF) for withdrawal management, treatment and support beds.
It’s also looking for $1.5 million in one-time funding to renovate the hotel and an ongoing annual increase of $1 million for the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) for transitional housing initiatives.
While the CDSB is leading the push, the project partners include the Mushkegowuk Council, CMH-CT, urban Indigenous service partners, North Eastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services, Kunuwanimano Child and Family Services, Timmins Academic Family Health Team, Northern College.
The Ramada Inn was chosen for several reasons.
It’s close to transit, is zoned properly and vacant lots are part of the purchase, said Marks.
The vacant lots are opportunities for land-based strategies for treatment and recovery, or could allow for additional housing to be built.
The number of staff needed to run this type of facility is not known yet. Marks said he’d be better able to answer that in four to six months.
“There are a lot of conversations that remain that need to be had in terms of what the HR supports might need to be and some of those will be answered through the decision that gets made with regard to our funding application,” he said.
Creating the facility also means that people who need immediate help could check in.
Marks explained that someone being released from Monteith Correctional Centre, for example, who has made progress dealing with mental health or addictions may not have to spend a night in an emergency shelter. Instead, the WCE is a place where he said they won't be revictimized or subject to drug traffickers posing as homeless people.
"It's an opportunity for victims of intimate partner violence who won't have to go to an emergency shelter, but may have someplace to go in addition to the current second-stage housing that we have," he added.
A public meeting about the new facility is being held at the 1800 Riverside Dr. on Monday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
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