THUNDER BAY — Peer support will be one of many services provided under the umbrella of the recently-announced Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment—or HART—Hub coming to the city.
The executive director of a south-side Thunder Bay not-for-profit that assists and supports people experiencing homelessness says she knows what her organization’s role will be as the city’s safe consumption site transitions into a new model, but is still awaiting confirmation on how much money they’ll have to fulfill it.
People Advocating for Change through Empowerment, or PACE, is one of seven local service organizations that are slated to be funded so that their programs can fit into the province’s HART Hub model. These hubs, which will be located in nine Ontario cities, will replace sites where people can use drugs under professional supervision; they’re scheduled to close by March 31.
“As you know, we’re a peer support agency,” Georgina McKinnon said. “So, we are right now starting … training some people to the peer support guidelines, and we will be offering peer support, advocacy, and some education in the HART Hub.”
PACE operates a drop-in shelter on Victoria Avenue and also offers a range of services, including training and education sessions, mental health and mindfulness supports, and weekly Indigenous programming.
The city’s hub will be led by NorWest Community Health Centres, who currently runs the Path 525 safe consumption site. Joining NorWest and PACE in the hub will be Thunder Bay Counselling, St. Joseph's Care Group, Shelter House, Alpha Court, and the local Elizabeth Fry Society.
McKinnon said she doesn’t yet know how much funding from the province her organization will receive, but that NorWest has applied on their behalf. “This announcement, as you know, just came out last week, so we have to give Juanita (Lawson) over at NorWest time to actually soak it all in,” she said. “We’ll be meeting in the near future discussing how the HART Hub’s going to go.”
According to the province, the new model should improve access to recovery and treatment services, and will also include social services and employment support. The hubs will not allow supervised drug consumption.
Overall, McKinnon said she feels the model will work. “I can say it’s going to be an amazing hub for recovery in Thunder Bay.”
