Harm reduction home to help ease hospital, police load

A $1 million harm reduction home is expected to open in downtown Sudbury by the end of the summer to provide care and support for the city's most vulnerable people.

The North East Local Health Integration Network is investing the money to help those withsubstance abuse.

The development of the home, which will be run bythe Sudbury-Manitoulin branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, is still in its early stages. It can help up to 15 of the city's most vulnerable people once it opens, according to the programs manager.

• Sudbury homelessness will only get worse without funding, workers say
• LISTEN | Homeless addicts have few 'safe' spaces to live in Sudbury

I've spent a lot of time working in other areas in larger cities outside of Sudbury and working within the harm reduction scope and I've seen firsthand how that's really impacted a lot of people." said Tina Ranta from CMHA.

Clients have to be referred for treatment, either by themselves or a health-care provider, Ranta said. They will then receive individualized care.

Staff will also help clients transition from the program into housing.

"We don't have a set date that we would necessarily remove someone from the program, as long as we're continuing to work towards goals," Ranta said.

Alcohol served

And, yes, alcohol mainly beer and wine will be served to manage their addictions.

The program will help clear up patients from the emergency, as well as take the load off the citys police officers who have been struggling to respond to alcohol-related calls, Ranta said.

Last year, Greater Sudbury Police responded to about 1,000 alcohol-related calls in the downtown,most of whichinvolved disturbances and people passing out, according to police.

There are only so many things officers can do in those situations, police chief Paul Pedersen said.

And our response to that, unfortunately, is an arrest, a night in the jail, and they're released back. It does nothing to address root causes, he said.

"Anything we can do to reduce that population's contact with the police, frees us up to do other work that the community expects from us."

The city has yet to choose a location for the home, which is expected to open by the end of the summer.