Cathy Dobson/The Independent

It is a decision which may change lives.

With a unanimous show of support Monday, Sarnia council approved rezoning for the former SCITS property, arguably changing the lives of countless Sarnia-Lambton residents struggling to kick their addictions.

Council’s approval means that by mid-November a 30-bed addiction recovery facility for Sarnia-Lambton residents will be operational, said Bluewater Health CEO Paula Reaume-Zimmer.

 “I see this as the missing link,” said Councillor Chrissy McRoberts. The new facility will play a critical role in fighting addictions in Sarnia-Lambton.

Currently, once detox is achieved at Bluewater Health, a 30-day stay is available at a transitional facility called Ryan’s House that’s been operating since 2021 on Exmouth Street. It’s then that individuals trying to stay sober often have no stable housing. Relapse is common.

But these new 30 beds in the former high school will provide a supportive place to recover for another 18 months.

“(Recovering addicts) progress to your facility and then Indwell would accept them (for permanent housing),” McRoberts said to Reaume-Zimmer.  “It’s a natural progression.”

The 30-bed residential facility is known as the Housing and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub and will be one of 27 announced by the province in 2024 and approved for Sarnia nine months ago, just before the provincial election call.   

The former high school at 275 Wellington St. is an ideal location because dormitories have already been built by its private owner who hoped to operate an international school there, said Reaume-Zimmer. He has since abandoned that plan.

With minimum renovation, the HART Hub will be ready to accept its first residents this fall now that it is appropriately zoned, she said.

“Is it your intention to be good neighbours?” asked Councillor Bill Dennis. 

“Absolutely,” replied Reaume-Zimmer, assuring council that the facility will be completely substance-free. “We wouldn’t co-locate any type of harm reduction or (drug) use in the same vicinity.

“Otherwise, we’d be sabotaging the success of the people who are there to be completely substance free.”

She pointed out that Ryan’s House operates 12 beds on Exmouth for recovering addicts and it’s been “pleasantly uneventful” despite being in a residential neighbourhood.  She also said the hospital is leasing a portion of 275 Wellington St. for the HART Hub and will be responsible for security of that portion, as well as 24/7 staffing.

The new zoning not only allows for residential transitional treatment, it removes use as a daycare, something Toronto-based owner Mohit Gupta had proposed after purchasing the building four years ago.

Council’s support on Monday means construction of a new kitchen can begin immediately, said Reaume-Zimmer. Otherwise, the space is ready to go. Staff are already being trained.

“We need to get in quickly,” she said. The provincial government has awarded Bluewater Health the contract to operate a HART Hub for three years as a demonstration project and the first year is already well-underway.