The term "HART hub" has made a lot of headlines lately — and will generate plenty more in the weeks to come.
Known officially as "Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment" hubs, the facilities were recently announced by the Ford government as a replacement for the province's soon-to-be-shuttered supervised drug consumption sites.
The province is earmarking $378 million toward creating 19 HART hubs, which it says will add up to 375 "highly supportive housing units" across Ontario. Priority will be given to the 10 communities losing their safe consumption sites, leaving nine other cities vying for the remaining spots.
Mayor Matthew Shoemaker is adamant that the Sault be "at the top of the list" when the Ford government reveals the selected cities.
As SooToday reported last week, Sault Ste. Marie is once again tops when it comes to opioid-related deaths in the province.
“The fact that the stats back us up I think, unfortunately, helps our application," Shoemaker said during a wide-ranging interview in our SooToday studio. "But something has to change because the way we’re currently doing it isn’t working. We don’t have the money to fund healthcare initiatives from a municipal budget. Healthcare is a provincial government responsibility.”
You can watch our full interview with the mayor HERE.