EDITOR’S NOTE: Sarnia-Lambton is struggling with an unprecedented addiction crisis, generating plenty of news about overdoses and homelessness. But sometimes there is recovery. And it’s anticipated that new government investment in local services and facilities will bring additional relief. The award-winning team of journalist Cathy Dobson and photographer Glenn Ogilvie set out this past winter to find individuals who have experienced serious alcohol and drug addictions, and who found their own path to recovery. Below, you can find the full supplement which appeared in The Independent May 14, 2026. Watch here for further stories.

Cathy Dobson/Local Journalism Inititiave

The road to recovery from addiction often has multiple lanes, local experts say.

“There is no silver bullet to this crisis,” says Bluewater Health CEO Paula Reaume-Zimmer. “There is no one path.”

But there is growing evidence that combinations of specific strategies have high success rates.
Some 51.2 per cent of Canadians in recovery report reaching a point of stability without relapse, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).

Even more encouraging, a CCSA national survey found that roughly 75 per cent of people with a significant substance use problem eventually achieve recovery or resolve the issue over their lifetime.

While it’s true that relapse is common – the average person makes two to five serious attempts before achieving long-term stability – the risk of relapse drops significantly over time. After five years of continuous sobriety, the likelihood of using again falls to less than 15 per cent, the CCSA reports.

Local health officials say they are more hopeful than ever thanks to a recent expansion of addiction and recovery services. And a greater effort is being made to ensure quicker and easier access for those struggling with addiction, mental health and homelessness.

Taking the lead on several new initiatives are Bluewater Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Lambton Kent.

“It’s a pivotal moment when someone reaches out for help,” says Donna Morreau, Bluewater Health’s director of mental health and addiction services. “It’s so important to make them feel supported without judgment with that first interaction.”

The hospital’s addiction services are highly respected, says Matt Barnes, a Sarnia-based psychotherapist specializing in trauma therapy at Southwest Counselling Services.

He frequently treats patients with addiction and provides strategies to address it and any trauma that might underlie it.

“Distressing events, especially in childhood, create low self-esteem and a sense of unsafety in the world,” said Barnes. “It’s difficult to navigate the world if you feel unsafe and chronically stressed.
“It’s also very difficult to treat trauma (like OCD or PTSD) when someone is in active addiction,” he said, so abstinence is accompanied by counselling.

The good news is that the brain can be rewired through healthy relationships and new patterns of living. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provide a sense of safety where people feel supported and encouraged to share their stories.

“There are a lot of therapeutic elements in the 12 steps,” said Barnes. They help instill healthy habits and more positive attitudes.

Private therapists like him offer one-on-one talk therapy for trauma and a growing number offer EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). EMDR uses eye movements, tapping or tones to replace negative emotions around specific memories.

Therapy is also available through Bluewater Health.

“They are the hub for substance abuse,” said Barnes. “They have a lot of connections, a lot of resources and their services are free.”

Bluewater Health offers detox (withdrawal management), early recovery beds (Ryan’s House), long-term recovery beds (HART Hub), group and individual therapy for people experiencing addictions and their families, outpatient counselling and referrals to treatment centres like Westover.

Three new programs have started through Sarnia’s HART Hub since late 2025.

The provincial government is funding a three-year pilot project called the Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in 28 communities across Ontario.

Reaume-Zimmer said Sarnia is getting roughly $6 million in annual funding for a HART Hub. It’s a new approach to recovery that is already paying off, she said.

The hospital opened its component of the HART Hub at the former SCITS high school on Wellington Street in December with 30 long-term beds. By the end of March, 21 people had been admitted.

Two of them quickly found affordable housing, a few reunited with family, some relapsed, but seven have remained there since it opened in December.

For the first time, Sarnia-Lambton has a safe, supportive long-term facility for those in recovery, said Morreau. “We’re seeing some really good successes early on.”

Individuals who go through acute detox and finish 30 days of early recovery at Ryan’s House, now have the option to stay within their own community at the HART Hub for up to 18 months.

“Now you can see the hope at Ryan’s House when we say there is another option for them once they finish there,” said Morreau.

“This gives them a real opportunity to ground themselves,” said Reaume-Zimmer who was a psychiatric nurse and the integrated VP of Mental Health and Addiction before becoming the hospital’s CEO.

“This is a vulnerable group of people who were often lost because the services to help them were so fragmented,” she said. “Right now, every agency involved is working to make access easier. I am more hopeful than I’ve ever been.

“We’re seeing the impact (the HART Hub model) is having on lives already and the potential there is for many more lives.”

A new low-barrier drop-in centre for vulnerable people has been operating on Lochiel Street since November. An astonishing 50 people a day are using services there, says Rhonny Doxtator, CEO at CMHA Lambton Kent. “This is really exciting to me,” she said.

For the first time, vulnerable people can find everything from a shower to a full-on assessment for care just by walking in.

Drop-in services are also for families of vulnerable people to help them explore treatment options for their loved ones, and find support for themselves, Doxtator added.

She agrees that what works best is integrated treatment that addresses addiction as well as physical health, mental health and any underlying trauma.

“We’re learning that hubs work. People don’t have to bounce around and that’s important if you have someone contemplating coming into care,” Doxtator said. “The hub is proving to be a great example of holistic care.”

Another downtown hub (YWHO) for youth ages 12-25 has operated at 190 Front Street since August 2023.

Also, since 2023, a mobile unit with healthcare professionals has been on the road in Lambton County, offering primary care to people who may not get it otherwise.

The unit has had 2,000 client visits and been extremely successful, Doxtator said.

The third component of HART Hub funding is to establish more permanent affordable housing. That is Lambton County’s responsibility and is a work in progress.

Asked what piece to the puzzle is missing to help Sarnia-Lambton’s homeless and addicted, Barnes, Morreau, Doxtator and Reaume-Zimmer each noted the same thing – housing.

“That’s the biggest question when they’ve done all the hard work,” said Morreau. “That last step is finding somewhere to call home.”

Where to find help

• Alcoholics Anonymous – 519-337-5211 www.aasarnialambton.com
• Narcotics Anonymous – 1-800-573-0920 www.orscna.org
• Canadian Mental Health Lambton Kent – 519-337-5411 www.lambtonkent.cmha.ca
• 24/7 Canadian Mental Health Crisis Line – 519-336-3445 or 1-800-307-4319
• Drug Addiction Hotline – 1-800-721-3232
• Distress Line (Family Counselling Centre) – 519-336-3000
• Bluewater Health Community Addiction Support – outpatient and walk-in services, crisis intervention, counselling, treatment referrals, for people in Sarnia-Lambton who struggle with substance abuse. Phone 519-332-4673 or email possible@bluewaterhealth.ca. Location: Bluewater Health, Level 6, Russell Building, 89 Norman St. Sarnia.
• Bluewater Health Acute Withdrawal Management – includes inpatient, 7-bed unit for detox for three – five days. Self referral. Counselling. 24/7 519-464-4487
• Bluewater Health Ryan’s House Stabilization Facility, a second-stage withdrawal management facility. Offers 12 beds for men and women over 16 to stay up to one month for early recovery following detox. 306 Exmouth St. Sarnia.
• HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hub – recently opened in Sarnia. Two locations. 30-bed residential facility (up to 18 months) considered the third stage for recovery in Sarnia-Lambton, following detox and Ryan’s House. 275 Wellington St. (formerly SCITS high school).
• HART Hub drop-in at 210 Lochiel St. offers recovery support services, showers, laundry, a kitchen, health care referrals, help finding housing, employment, and mental health supports.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline – 9-8-8 (call or text)
• Community Health Integrated Care (CHIC Team) Daily, on-scene interventions, rapid response, withdrawal management.
• MobileCare – Community Health Outreach. Travels across urban and rural S-L with free, walk in services. No appointment required. Primary care, mental health care, addictions services, withdrawal management services and referrals. 1-866-299-7447. www.sl.mobilecareclinic.ca.
• Bluewater Methadone Clinic S-L at 118 Victoria St. in Sarnia. 519-337-5000.
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point Health Services for mental health and addictions at 6275 Indian Lane, Lambton Shores. 519-786-5647.
• Youth Wellness Hub – 190 Front St. for ages 12 – 25 and their families. Crisis/Walk in support, case management, psychotherapy, peer support, addiction services, nurse practitioner, drop in activity groups, fitness activities, family support, housing support and vocational services. 519-491-1466
• Redpath (Inn of the Good Shepherd on John St. Sarnia) Addictions treatment using an Indigenous specific model. Clinical and cultural approaches in a group setting. Call 519-344-1746 ext. 338.
• Lambton College personal and mental health counselling – available free to all full and part-time students.

Regional longer term residential rehab facilities:

• Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville, call 1-800-721-3232;
• Renascent Addiction Centre in Toronto, call 1-866-232-1212;
• Residence at Homewood and Health Centre in Guelph, call 1-438-258-5460;
• Brentwood Recovery House in Windsor, call 519-253-2441;
• Hope Place in Milton, call 905-878-1120.