The province has released funding for the downtown HART Hub for the homeless, which doesn’t appear to be much of a hub so far, but 48 scattered supportive housing units.
Although provincial officials aren’t saying anything, Mayor Paul Lefebvre announced some details during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The 48 units in various buildings will be divided between and managed by Monarch Recovery Services, Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
“Each organization will support an equal number of individuals with full case management and wraparound services to help people stabilize and rebuild their lives,” Mayor Paul Lefebvre said during Tuesday’s meeting.
These units, he explained to Sudbury.com after Tuesday’s meeting, are “supportive” housing, which he described as “the phase after Lorraine.”
This, in reference to the 40-unit transitional housing complex on Lorraine Street, whose 24/7 operations with support staff through Health Sciences North the province is also funding.
Where the Lorraine Street transitional housing complex targets the chronically homeless in an effort to ease them into permanent community housing, Lefebvre described the 48 supportive housing units under the HART Hub program as being the next step.
It’s “a huge win” in working toward the city’s goal of bringing a functional end to homelessness by 2030, Lefebvre said.
Under the 48-unit HART Hub program, seven people have already been housed under Monarch Recovery Services and three have been housed under Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre, the mayor said.
Meanwhile, there are currently 32 people residing in the 40-unit Lorraine Street building, which is still ramping up operations since opening in July.
Provincial funding for the transitional and supportive housing efforts was announced in January, with $6.3 million being provided from the province annually for three years.
Lefebvre’s update to city council on Tuesday was the first big announcement regarding the HART Hub project since January, with the province declining to share details. A website was created, calling the project the HARTbeat Health and Wellness Centre.
It’s unclear whether a physical centre will be established in addition to the 48 scattered units.
In October, a provincial spokesperson told Sudbury.com that its “permanent location is in the midst of its procurement phase, and details about the full range of services and rollouts will be shared once this process is finalized.”
The website lists the services provided as including:
- Primary healthcare: Providing general health services, chronic disease management, and culturally safe care for Indigenous clients, including traditional healing practices.
- Mental health support: Offering psychiatric assessments, counselling, crisis intervention, and peer support programs to facilitate mental health recovery and community reintegration.
- Addiction recovery: Leading withdrawal management, residential treatment, and aftercare services, with a focus on harm reduction and peer-led support.
The HARTbeat Health and Wellness Centre “is dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for healing and recovery,” the website said, “with a focus on addressing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges in Greater Sudbury.”
Sudbury.com reached out to provincial officials for the latest details regarding the HART Hub effort by both phone and email on Wednesday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Two similar inquiries seeking the same information plus additional context around the city’s expressed need for more transitional housing units were also sent to Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing communications staff on Monday and Tuesday.
None of these inquiries have been acknowledged.
Under the Ford Government, interview requests are consistently denied. When they do respond, communications staff send written responses instead, which rarely answer all of the questions provided and do not arrive in a timely manner.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.