London’s Homelessness Solution Gets Provincial Nod

London's mayor is feeling validated after the province announced a massive investment to combat homelessness and addiction. The move backs up the city's ongoing efforts to address these critical issues head-on.

Mayor Josh Morgan was pretty stoked when Ontario's Health Minister, Sylvia Jones, revealed plans to drop $378 million on 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs across the province. Jones made the announcement at the Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO) conference, spotlighting London as a trendsetter in this approach.

Last year, London launched an ambitious plan to open up to 15 hubs offering round-the-clock services and 600 units of highly supportive housing. So far, the city has debuted two hubs—one by Youth Opportunities Unlimited and another by Atlosha focused on the Indigenous community.

As Mayor Morgan explained, the city had been in discussions with provincial officials, sharing data and models on how these hubs could work. This effort has clearly paid off, with the province now using London's model as a blueprint.

This isn't just about opening more facilities. The province is essentially acknowledging that London's approach—community-focused and data-driven—actually works. And let's be real, with the housing crisis and addiction issues raging, that's some much-needed good news.

The HART hubs will add 375 new highly supportive housing units to Ontario, with 143 of those already operational or in the works in London as of mid-July.

In tandem with the new HART hubs, the province is tightening restrictions on supervised consumption facilities. London’s Carepoint Consumption and Treatment Services site will stay open, but with higher scrutiny and new policies to ensure safety. This includes banning such sites within 200 meters of schools and childcare centers—a move driven by recent public safety concerns linked to a shooting near a Toronto facility.

This dual strategy aims to transition closed supervised consumption sites into HART hubs, which means no more supervised drug use or needle exchange programs. Instead, the focus shifts to comprehensive addiction and recovery services.

But there's controversy too. Some argue that the closure of supervised sites could limit essential support for those battling addiction. Carepoint, for example, recorded over 16,000 visits in 2023, prevented 173 overdose deaths, and facilitated more than 16,000 referrals.

Critics like Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles say that axing these proven supports during an opioid crisis is counterproductive. The province’s reassurances that