Ottawa Housing project aims to help addicts, mentally ill



CBC -- A new program in Ottawa is offering permanent housing to more than 100 drug addicts with mental illnesses, in a bid to help curb chronic homelessness and free up emergency rooms.

The Housing First project was announced Monday, with a plan to open up accommodations to give patients a chance to redirect their lives and get off the streets.

Under the program, which will cost $1 million a year to operate, people who struggle with both substance-abuse and mental illness will receive a monthly rental supplement as well as access to treatment.

"For some people who've lost their way and lost their place in the community, this program will actually bring them back to where they belong and where they deserve to be," explained Wendy Muckle, the executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health, one the agencies backing the project.

Researchers to study impact of program

Alex Munter, the CEO of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, said the Housing First initiative gives a big boost to patients who might otherwise struggle much harder along the road to recovery.

"It will be a win for individuals first and foremost because it will give them the chance to get their lives back on track," he said. "It will be a win for our community because it will get people off the streets and into long-term housing, and it's a win for our health-care system because it will take people out of emergency rooms and provide them with more appropriate services."

Dr. Susan Farrell, a clinical director with the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, is already supporting the program. The psychiatrist said what distinguishes this program from others is its housing-first approach, the benefits of which are numerous.

"If you have a safe place to sleep at night, that helps your mental health," she said. "If you have a safe place to live, that helps your physical health. If you're accessing treatment and you can go home, that helps how you're going to do in treatment."

Researchers with the University of Ottawa will follow patients' progress for two years to evaluate the program's effectiveness.


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