Hospital CEO outlines plan to establish HART Hub in Windsor-Essex

Windsor-Essex will apply for money to create a HART Hub the new provincial model that brings homelessness and addiction services together in lieu of the supervised drug consumption sites that have been restricted by the Ontario government.

If the application is successful, the region'sHomelessness and Addiction Recovery TreatmentHub is expected to beco-led by Htel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and ideally a partner based in Essex County, said hospital CEO Bill Marra.

"In order to truly put forward a regional approach, we need to find a county partner," Marra said. "Because one of the biggest barriers, frankly, for people who live in the county, is access to services and transportation, at times. Sothat would lend itself well to a regional approach."

A letter of intent was recently submitted to the province. Applications are due in October.

City officials said this weekthat Htel-Dieu Grace Healthcare will be the region's "transfer payment agency" or TPA essentially, the organization that receives provincial funding and workswith others to put it to use.

Marra said HDGHis well-suited for that role because it has the capacity and infrastructure to handle the accountabilityreporting required, and is currently a significant provider of similar services to the community.

The announcement of HART Hubs Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment follows the Ontario government's announcement in August that it will no longer support drug consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites.

A review of CTS siteswas prompted by the fatal shooting of a woman outside a Toronto site last summer.

While the review was against closing the sites, the provincial government said it intends tofocus on treatment options.

About $378 million in funding will go to 19 HART Hubs across the province. Marra calledthat a "considerable" investment per hub. Ten locations will be brand new, while nine will replace existing CTS sites.

In preparing HDGH's proposal, Marra saidtwo dozen local service providers were found to already be working in the areas of homelessness, housing, treatment, and recovery. HDGH is researching how those service providers can be augmented.

Marra saidhe's confident Windsor's proposal will be on the province's discussion table.

"The fact that we were on our way with a safe consumption site, and it was closed I think we were identified as a community that has a need for services," Marra said.

Marra noted that he has spoken with both Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Essex County Warden Hilda MacDonald about a regional HART Hub.

"The other reason why I have a lot of confidence in our community: We have outstanding partners. We really have our act together We have a regional approach, a regional focus, (and) great service providers."

Marra said the newmodel should help address gaps in the system such asthe wait time for a treatment bed after a personenterswithdrawal management services at HDGH.

"That's what we need to mitigate, because there's a lot of risk associated with that. How do we support that individual while they're waiting for a bed, or how do we get them to a treatment bed a lot quicker."

HDGH has already looked at possible locations for aHART Hub, but Marra said he does not wish to makethose locations public just yet.

But Marra offered that a regional HART Hub is unlikely to be a single address instead resembling a "spoke wheel."

Marra added that the provincial funding is meant for operational purposes. Little capital funding is available, the location will involve existing buildings.

But, he noted that there is very little capital funding available the money is operational, so they're looking at existing buildings.

According to Marra, the HART Hub should be "very complementary" to the city's plans to establish its own Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4).

Andrew Daher, the city's commissioner of health and human services, said the combined effortsof a HART Hub and the city's H4 should better enable individuals experiencing homelessness to "get off the street" and enter treatment if they're ready for it.

If HDGH's application is successful, a Windsor-Essex HART Hub will begin operating on a three-year pilot program.

Marra said HDGH will work to show that the model should become permanent.

"It might look different in three years but (we'll) at least establish the foundational piece that a HART Hub should be a permanent investment. Because personally, I don't see any of these issues going away anytime soon," Marra said.

"And ultimately, it's a healthcare issue and healthcare needs to evolve with the needs of the community."

The province's deadline for HART Hub applications is Oct. 18.

Ontario's Ministry of Health has expressed that HART Hubs should be operational by the winter of 2025.