The Lanark, Leeds and Grenville HART Hub locations confirmed and set to open this winter

Brockville/Smiths Falls – Lanark Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (LLGAMH)—the operator of the new Lanark, Leeds and Grenville HART Hub initiative— is pleased to announce it has received funding approval from the Ontario government to open the HART Hub this winter at its two confirmed locations: 280 King St E, Brockville and 9 Armstrong Drive, Smiths Falls.

A provincial initiative, the HART Hubs are referral-based healthcare facilities that provide an entire continuum of care under one roof, encompassing addiction treatment, mental health care, primary health care, supportive housing, vocational training, and social services to help individuals achieve long-term recovery and stability. The HART Hubs do not provide supervised consumption services, safer drug supplies, or needle exchange services.

“With today’s announcement, we’re taking real action to address homelessness, addictions, and mental health challenges in our community. This facility will offer treatment and wrap-around supports that will be life-changing and in many cases, life-saving, for our most vulnerable citizens,” said Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. “Thank you to Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health for their support and leadership, as well as all the partners who worked with me, MPP Jordan, and our government to make today possible. I have every confidence in the exceptional team at LLGAMH to operate this facility professionally and responsibly, as they have for years at multiple locations throughout our community.”

“Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs are a welcome addition to Ontario’s healthcare system,” said John Jordan, MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. “Like hospitals, primary care organizations, schools and recreation facilities, they provide a needed service. Hubs support community safety, while giving people a path to recovery. I thank the Mayors and Councils of Smiths Falls and Brockville for their advocacy and MPP Clark for working with me to help secure this service.”

The locations were selected based on the following criteria:

1. Proper zoning
2. Appropriate facility space and layout
3. Close to the priority populations who will access services

“Hope has arrived in our community. The establishment of a HART Hub in Smiths Falls is an incredibly positive development, not just for the people struggling with substance use and addiction, but also for their families and the entire Lanark and Leeds Grenville community,” said Mayor Shawn Pankow, Town of Smiths Falls. “The value of having treatment and ongoing support close to home cannot be understated, and we are extremely grateful to Lanark Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health and MPPs Jordan and Clark for doing everything needed to bring this lifeline to our community.“

“The need for more resources to support those facing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges in our community has never been greater. We are pleased the Province has recognized this urgency and is committing significant investment in Brockville through the establishment of a HART Hub site,” said Mayor Matt Wren, City of Brockville. “The new HART Hub will offer essential services in a secure, clinical setting—resources that have not been available until now. I encourage the entire community to get behind this initiative. Lasting change requires more than short-term solutions—it takes sustained commitment to help people regain stability and live with dignity.”

Led by LLGAMH in partnership with more than 50 community organizations, municipalities and counties, the HART Hub will operate in two locations – one in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and one in Lanark County – and will be staffed 24/7 by highly skilled addictions and mental health professionals.

“The HART Hub offers our communities a transformative, full continuum of mental health and addictions care, providing individuals with a real opportunity for lasting recovery, and in some cases a pathway out of homelessness,” said Kim Gifford, CEO, LLGAMH. “As with our other 11 residential treatment properties, our HART Hub locations will be considerate neighbours, responsive to feedback and committed to a high standard of safety and property maintenance.”

The HART Hub is for any individual who can benefit from a seamless, multi-phase approach to addiction recovery. Clients may move through the full continuum of care to support every stage of the healing journey or access only one or a few of the services (e.g. withdrawal management and addiction treatment only). The program is designed using the following four-part continuum of care:

1. Withdrawal Management (3 to 14 days)
   Clients begin their recovery with medically supported withdrawal in a safe and caring environment.
2. Intensive Residential Treatment (3 months)
   Clients participate in 5 to 6 hours of daily programming, combining group sessions (e.g., Coping with Trauma) and individual therapy, and they begin receiving vocational supports to prepare for after treatment.
3. Supportive Treatment (3 months)
   Clients focus on reintegration and skill-building through continued substance use programming and a greater emphasis on employment readiness, school credit upgrading, job skills training and volunteer placements
4. Supportive Housing
   The final stage of care provides clients with stable housing in a substance-free environment while they fully reintegrate into the community.

The process for HART Hub referrals and self-referrals will launch this fall.

The Leeds and Grenville site will have the capacity to potentially support local shelter beds that would be funded by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (not part of the HART Hub model). If this goes forward, the beds would be an entry point for clients to move into the HART Hub program for addiction care.

“The HART Hub is a healthcare centre where clients are referred to receive evidence-based care and progress along their healing journey, similar to a hospital,” explained Chris Curry, Program Director, Planning and Implementation. “By design, the HART Hub will not be a gathering place in our community, but a place for treatment, recovery, and skill-building so that clients can begin to rebuild their lives.”

LLGAMH will continue to operate the successful Drop-In Centre at 25 Front Ave. that offers clients programming and support to address their basic needs, help with navigating resources, and a place to build community. The Drop-In will continue welcoming clients seven days a week (including holidays).

Minor leasehold improvements are required at both locations. The Lanark location is expected to open by the end of 2025, and the Leeds Grenville location is scheduled to open by early 2026.

LLGAMH invites community members to the Drop-In Information Sessions for an opportunity to learn more about the new HART Hub:

• Tuesday, October 14, 5 to 7 pm, Drop-In Centre, 25 Front Ave W, Brockville
• Wednesday, October 15, 5 to 7 pm, Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre, 71 Cornelia St. W, Smiths Falls

Learn more about the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville HART Hub here.