New Housing Program in Kitchener Aims to Aid Recovery

A new transitional housing program is launching at the end of next month in Kitchener, offering twelve beds to support individuals as they work through addiction and focus on recovery. 

People overcoming addiction will be provided with temporary housing for six to 12 months as part of this abstinence-based initiative.

This program, managed by House of Friendship, is a collaboration with Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, which operates the HART Hub. It’s part of a $529 million provincial funding effort aimed at addiction treatment and is located at 47 Madison Ave. S. in Kitchener.

Tara Groves-Taylor, CEO of Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, mentions that transitional housing is vital for the HART Hub, which began last April.

“We’ve had a bit of a long wait for that, for the transitional housing piece to come online. But those 12 beds represent a crucial abstinence-based option for people in our community.”

Jennifer Scott, CEO of House of Friendship, emphasizes how important this program is for those committing to abstaining from substances or entering withdrawal management. She shared the story of a man who went into withdrawal management but found himself without options after treatment ended.

“His family relationships are broken down, so he had to return to a shelter and within about five days, because he was not in a supportive environment and there was drug use around, he relapsed,” said Scott. 

She explains that transitional housing helps bridge gaps in support systems for people continuing their recovery journey but admits it can’t assist everyone.

Scott highlights there’s a “huge need,” with over 600 individuals facing chronic homelessness in the area.

“However, what we wanted to do was fill that gap that we were seeing, which was the abstinence-based program and support those folks really well to move on into housing,” said Scott.

The ultimate goal of this program is permanent housing; however, securing such housing poses significant challenges when leaving transitional accommodations according to Scott.

“We’re working very intently on how do we support people well to find that housing, and then when they find housing, to make sure that they can remain housed.”

She adds there’s strong emphasis on developing life skills and fostering community connections within this initiative. 

Housing Initiative Launches in Guelph

This month earlier on, HART Hub Guelph Wellington revealed an initiative focused on supportive housing models aimed at helping 150 individuals.

In partnership with the County of Wellington and Stonehenge Therapeutic Community, ten people will have access to community housing units in Guelph while 140 current tenants will receive assistance ensuring they stay housed.

Melissa Kwiatkowski, CEO of Guelph Community Health Centre notes this initiative combines existing housing solutions with comprehensive clinical and social supports.

“We know that housing stability for people is really closely linked to health and well-being. So when people don’t have access to mental-health and substance-use health supports, tenancies can fall into crisis,” said Kwiatkowski. 

The aim here is also reducing dependence on emergency services like hospitals or shelters during crises.

“By providing support early as part of this component of the model, we are preventing evictions, preventing homelessness,” said Kwiatkowski.

The county has pinpointed individuals needing assistance through this program already onboarding participants successfully.

The Role Of Waterloo Region’s HART Hub

The local HART Hubs offer more than just help with finding places to live. The acronym stands for homelessness, addiction recovery and treatment.

“It offers a range of services that meet people where they’re at in their stage of change with substance use,” said Groves.

She detailed how these services include food programs , showers , drop-in facilities , addiction counseling , plus pathways toward either community-centered addiction treatment or transitional accommodation.

Since its launch , Kitchener-Waterloo ’ s HART hub has assisted nearly 600 unique clients through over 1 ,000 service interactions regarding interest levels toward Hart Hub offerings.

Groves states these supports aren’t brief encounters.

“For people who even choose to address their substance use , it still takes an average about seven attempts before they successfully tackle issues surrounding substance use ,” stated Groves.

Nine Hart Hubs across Ontario opened their doors back on April 1st , replacing previous supervised drug consumption sites.

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