As HART Hubs open across Ontario, the location of Thunder Bay's site remains uncertain

CBC

02-04-2025

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As several supervised consumption sites across Ontario transition into Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs, the permanent location for the one in Thunder Bay remains up in the air.
Juanita Lawson, CEO of NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC), said the organization is receiving $6.3 million annually to transition its supervised consumption site — Path 525 — into a HART Hub.
Path 525, which opened in 2018, is one of 10 sites forced to close after March 31 due to a new provincial law saying supervised consumption sites can't be within 200 metres of schools or child-care settings. It was the only remaining site in northern Ontario.
Unlike supervised consumption sites, HART Hubs will not allow supervised drug consumption, safer supply or needle exchange programs. According to the province, they will instead focus on providing primary care, employment support, and mental health, addiction and social services.
In a news release Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said Thunder Bay's HART Hub is temporarily operating out of a drop-in centre until June 1, before permanently moving across the street from an overnight shelter.
Despite the province listing a specific address, Lawson said the organization has not signed a lease for a permanent location for the northwestern Ontario city's HART Hub.
In an email to CBC News on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Hannah Jensen said "NorWest is up and running their HART Hub at their interim site (510 Victoria Ave.), which they will be at until June 1."
"Renovations are underway at 409 George St., which will be their new location due to open in June," said Jensen.
The address, 510 Victoria Ave., is for People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment (PACE), which operates a drop-in centre and seasonal warming/cooling centre on the city's south side.
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Thunder Bay, Ont., remains among the communities hit hardest by the opioid crisis. At People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment (PACE), all workers have lived experience of what their clients are going through. The CBC's Sarah Law spent time at the centre on the city's south side to hear how staff connect with clients through shared experiences.
It is unclear what kind of additional services are being offered at PACE while it serves as Thunder Bay's temporary HART Hub.
CBC News reached out to PACE on Tuesday and was told by its executive director that they needed permission from the ministry before doing an interview.
The address 409 George St. is across the street from a nearby overnight shelter called Shelter House.
Court injunction not impacting Thunder Bay
While an Ontario judge has allowed the 10 closing supervised consumption sites to stay open as he considers a Charter challenge to the government's new rules about their location, Lawson said it doesn't make sense to keep operating Path 525, since provincial funding for the site has already been pulled.
"We've laid off all of our staff, we're closing our doors. Clients have been apprised for the last couple of months that this was happening," she said.
"I think there also is an understanding that with receiving the HART Hub funding … that caveat comes with not offering a consumption and treatment service."
She described the HART Hub project as "a very interesting puzzle, but with hundreds and hundreds of pieces," since the services to be offered there span multiple government ministries.
"It's probably one of the more complex processes that we've undertaken as an organization," Lawson said.
Concerns about more overdoses, public drug use
On Monday, NWCHC shared an infographic on Instagram about what people can expect with Path 525's closure.
"Businesses and community members may see an increase of public substance use, overdoses/drug poisonings, presence of needles and substance use paraphernalia in public space," the post says.
At Path 525, people could have their drugs tested using a drug analyzer machine to see if there were any unwanted substances in them. This machine has been a critical part of the drug alerts that NWCHC issues using the free Lifeguard Connect app.
Lawson said NWCHC is seeking federal approval to allow outreach workers to provide drug testing services through a mobile unit now that the supervised consumption site is closed.
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"With that will be a whole plan of where we'll be in certain locations, and people will get immediate and timely information about the substance that they're using," she said.
Kandace Belanger is the manager of street outreach and harm reduction programs at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU).
She said the TBDHU's Superior Points Harm Reduction Team does a lot of outreach and overdose prevention in the community, from providing sterile drug equipment to training on how to administer naloxone, which is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
"Harm reduction supplies are very important when it comes to infection prevention," Belanger said. "I think harm reduction in and of itself as well is a point of connection for people.
"My team not only provides the equipment, but they provide a lot of education and conversation and connection with clients."
The team also disposes of needles found in the community; people can call them to arrange pickups if they don't feel comfortable using a needle disposal bin themselves.
"Knowing that those services may not be accessible anymore through [Path 525], particularly harm reduction equipment, we'll ensure that there's access through different avenues to that equipment and what people need," Belanger said.
While the health unit does not have capacity to add more staff to the Superior Points team, Belanger said it works with other community agencies that provide harm reduction equipment.
"That's sort of the way that we increase capacity, is by having it more accessible through different organizations. It also makes it more accessible to people who need it, who maybe don't have as much access to transportation or other things," she said.
While the process of getting the HART Hub up and running has been challenging, Lawson said she feels hopeful about the new care model.
"The outcome that we're looking for is that people have safe, secure housing and they have what they need to remain there," Lawson said.