After being thrown a lifeline by the hospital, funding is set to run out for Timmins' safe consumption site.
Safe Health Site Timmins (SHST) staff have been given notice that it is closing on March 31 and their positions are being eliminated. Because Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) operates the facility, the jobs are through the hospital.
The Cedar Street North facility was funded by the City of Timmins for the first 1.5 years it was open. The municipal funding ended on Dec. 31, 2023. Weeks before it was slated to shut down, Timmins and District Hospital stepped up to extend its life by three months — to March 31, 2024.
In December, when the hospital confirmed it would temporarily fund SHST — which cost the city $85,833 a month — a funding proposal had also been submitted to the province.
TimminsToday asked for an interview with TADH staff to talk about how much funding the hospital has provided to date, an update on the funding proposal, and more.
The hospital provided a generic written statement.
"In December, the Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) announced that it would temporarily extend the operations of the Safe Health Site Timmins (SHST) until March 31, 2024, utilizing as many operational services from other agencies as possible. Utilizing operational funds, this decision was made to ensure that treatment and harm reduction services remain available for our community," it reads.
"We will communicate any updates as they become available. Our hospital is also working closely with our partners to further develop and advocate for long-term solutions, including withdrawal management and treatment services.
"In September 2023, Health Canada provided approval for the permanent supervised consumption services (SCS) site. Our community is still awaiting provincial approval."
Safe consumption sites are places for people to use previously obtained drugs in the presence of trained medical staff and connect to services.
While SHST is operated by the hospital right now, once there is a permanent funding stream it will be operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane-Timiskaming.
SHST opened in July 2022. The City of Timmins was the sole funder of the facility until the end of 2023, committing more than $1.5 million to it.
Receiving approval for a permanent facility from Health Canada allowed SHST to apply to the province for funding.
Right after SHST received its federal approval, Ontario paused all new funding applications for safe consumption sites to allow for a review of the facilities after a woman was hit by a stray bullet and killed outside of a Toronto site. That review has not been completed yet.
Down Highway 144, Sudbury's safe consumption site known as The Spot is also slated to close in March.
Sudbury's facility is operated by the Réseau ACCESS Network. Its application for provincial funding was submitted in August 2021, with the province not coming through with funding yet.
In recent months, it's been kept open through corporate and anonymous donations. Earlier this week, Réseau indicated that its last day of operation will be March 29 if provincial cash doesn't come through.
