New Barrie homeless and addiction treatment centre to serve Simcoe County

Barrie will be home to a new homelessness and addiction treatment centre serving all of Simcoe County.

The City of Barrie will be home to one of Ontario’s new Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs, part of the province’s plan to support individuals struggling with addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness.

“This is a game-changer for our community," said Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey. “This is something that has been a long journey getting here.”

The new hub will be located in Barrie but will serve residents across Simcoe County. It’s one of 27 HART hubs the province is funding with a $529 million investment. The hubs will also replace the outgoing safe injection sites scattered across the province.

“We don’t want to see the injection sites, we want treatment, and this is what this will provide,” said Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke.

Barrie’s mayor expressed gratitude following the announcement on Tuesday.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart and my council’s heart, and I think that you’ve put us on the trajectory we need to be,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall.

In all, $19 million will be earmarked for the Barrie HART hub, which the mayor said would assist thousands.

The province aims to have the treatment centres operational by April.