Latest news with #addictionservices
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
More involuntary care beds in B.C.
Eighteen beds are opening in Metro Vancouver, expanding of involuntary care for people with drug addiction, mental illness and brain injuries.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Visits steadily increasing at Sudbury Youth Hub
The Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub on Durham Street, has seen more than 11,000 visits in the year it has been open. The Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub, located in the YMCA building downtown on Durham Street, has seen more than 11,000 visits in the year it has been open. Officials said Friday that they have seen a steady increase in youth accessing their services, ranging from mental health and addiction services to primary care, skills development and well-being activities. It has become one of the busiest youth hubs in Ontario. Officials at the Hub in Sudbury said in the past three months alone, they have provided $10,000 in transit fares to help youth access the centre. 'It's quite an expense but we do see the value in it being able to help youth get to and from (here),' said Amanda Gates, Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub co-ordinator. 'We have had a couple of youth say when we are out of bus passes they have to walk an hour and a half home, and so we would rather make that a little bit easier safer for them, as well.' Youth Wellness Hub The Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub, located in the YMCA building downtown on Durham Street, has seen more than 11,000 visits in the year it has been open. (Alana Everson/CTV News) The Hub opened in June 2023 and now averages 60 visits a day from youths ages 12-25. It's run by Compass, the lead agency for child and youth mental health in Greater Sudbury, and the hub is designed to address service gaps in mental health and addictions services. 'The whole point of the youth wellness hub is one-stop shop for youth dropping into the centre,' said Mark Fraser, Compass CEO. 'And that includes primary care mental health services, employment services. (It's) also an opportunity to connect with peer support workers so that they can in turn help support the needs of every youth who drops into the centre.' Officials said the number of youth accessing the space continues to grow and there has been a steady increase since last winter when the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth closed due to insolvency. 'We have been really busy. We have had a lot of great feedback from youth. A lot have told us that without this place they would have no where else to go,' said Gates. The hub is funded by the provincial government but as more youth access the safe space, officials said there is an ongoing need for donations to help with food security, transportation and clothing.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
St. Joseph's site swap aims to improve access to addiction services in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Social Sharing The Crossroads Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., has officially relocated, marking the next stage in St. Joseph's Care Group's plans to improve access to its addiction services in the northwestern Ontario community. Essentially, Crossroads has swapped sites with St. Joseph's Care Group's withdrawal management services and safe sobering bed program. As of Thursday: Crossroads' 20 pre and post-treatment beds are located at 667 Sibley Dr. 25 detox/withdrawal management beds are located at 500 Oliver Rd. Seven safe sobering beds, with eight more beds coming this summer, are located at 500 Oliver Rd. "We now, with these renovations, have more purpose-built space for individuals to work on their goals and to connect with providers as they're working on their recovery and whatever their life goals are for their next step," said St. Joseph's director of addiction services, Nicole Spivak. Crossroads provides clients with accommodation and on-site support both before and after they complete addiction treatment. In the detox program, clients typically stay for three to five days while they manage their withdrawal symptoms, having access to medical intervention and wraparound services. Meanwhile, the safe sobering beds provide people ages 16 and older who are intoxicated a safe space for up to 24 hours, with the goal of diverting them from ending up in police custody or the emergency department. All of St. Joseph's addiction services are completely voluntary. The site swap was necessary to provide more space for the Crossroads program, while creating a more appropriate layout for St. Joseph's other services, said Spivak. Ultimately, she said, the goal is to encourage people to access the services they want, when they want them, in the most supportive environment possible. "It might be intervention for withdrawal, it might be connection to counselling, connecting them to addiction services in the community or other types of services that would meet their needs, whether it be housing or family supports," she said. "So that when they leave, they have more of a plan and resources." Addressing addiction with compassion While 667 Sibley Dr. was undergoing renovations, all of the services were co-located at 500 Oliver Rd. Now, the new Crossroads Centre has space for clients to eat, sleep, do their laundry and participate in programming in a building surrounded by nature. In the summer, St. Joseph's also hopes to enhance the outdoor space, making room for cultural activities where sage and other traditional Indigenous medicines have already been planted. "Having a space designed specifically to meet client needs with input from clients and staff makes a huge difference," said Andrea Docherty, vice president of clinical and community care at St. Joseph's, in a news release issued Wednesday. "It feels like people care — not just about what they are going through now, but about helping them to move forward." The Thunder Bay district continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in the province, according to Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner. As community partners continue to work together to address the crisis, Spivak said she hopes St. Joseph's can help build more understanding around what addiction looks like and reduce the stigma surrounding substance use. "This is not looking at someone as, 'what is wrong with someone?' But really going to that place of compassion and seeing another member of our community and saying 'what's happened to them, and how can I help?'" she said. "To really have services that are accessible and timely that people feel safe to access and that they can access when they need, for as long as they need."
