The Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in Smiths Falls will open its doors to patients on Monday.
The Ontario government made the announcement in the eastern Ontario community on Friday. A sister branch in Brockville will start serving patients this coming spring.
Each branch will form one half of a Lanark County hub operated in partnership with Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health.
The HART model was introduced after the Ontario government banned supervised drug consumption sites near schools and child-care centres, effectively shutting down 10 of the sites across the province.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said HART hubs will allow more people to choose treatment instead of “enabling drug use.”
According to the release about Monday’s opening, HART hubs connect people to “a range of comprehensive treatment and recovery services” such as primary care, mental health services, addictions care, social services and employment support.
The Lanark County hub is one of over two dozen HART hubs either currently open or set to open across Ontario for about $550 million.
There are two hubs in Ottawa, one in Belleville and one in the works for Pembroke.
