KENORA — Community partners implementing the new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) in Kenora are excited to move forward with the project, starting March 31.
“I’m at a bit of a loss for words for what this funding means,” said Henry Wall, chief executive officer at the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB). “It’s very often said that poverty and circumstances are what keep people there (on the streets)…with the resources we have in our region, you shouldn’t have to have people live on the streets.”
The KDSB and the Kenora Chiefs Advisory (KCA), along with First Nation community partners, Kenora, Dryden and more are eager to get started on the "momentous" project. Over a conference call Thursday, it was said the program’s key function is to help vulnerable people navigate the system, fill in the gaps and get support directly to those who need it.
“I really want to see outcomes for First Nations vulnerable people,” said Jennifer Dreaver, executive director of KCA. “Each journey is unique and individualized.”
Chief Waylon Scott of Wabaseemoong First Nation and vice president of the KCA board of directors noted that he has 250 community members in Kenora and 30 in Dryden. He sees this as a genuine way to serve his people in a way that has never been able to before.
“It’s going to really benefit our community with services that have been missing for years,” he said.
Some of these services include filling in the gaps of affordable housing for people who are unhoused by topping up their funds to make housing accessible and providing space where shortages exist. There are 30 units ready at the Norwood Apartments in Kenora, according to Wall.
Help will also be made available with transportation, lining up appointments, navigating existing services and working on the holistic approach of helping people with their core needs. This is often very difficult for people who don’t have housing or security, access to treatment, said Wall, and knowing how to get there will make a big difference.
President of the KCA board Chief Lorraine Cobiness of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation said this collaboration to get the funding and HART Hub started is a huge step towards partnerships that will benefit everyone. But she said now is the time to roll up their sleeves and get started.
Kenora got the news they were successful in their bid to host a HART Hub on Monday.
The new model was introduced by the provincial government in tandem with the announcement that 10 safe consumption sites across the province, including the only Northwestern Ontario site in Thunder Bay, would be shut down at the end of March due to a proximity to schools or childcare centres.
