Oakridge Health and Harm Reduction Hub
In the fall of 2019, EMS and hospital ED data identified a high number of crisis situations related to problematic substance use amongst residents of the Oakridge/Warden Woods area of the city. In response, the South Riverdale Community Health Centre and Cota assembled a group of interested colleague organizations to develop and implement a pilot initiative spanning February to April 2020.
Partnering organizations included:
Through the generosity of the Warden Woods Community Centre’s Board of Directors, we were able to access space at their FirValley site and open in January 2020. From here, agencies delivered low-barrier health and harm reduction supports to clients such as: access to harm reduction supplies, telemedicine, case management, peer support, and groups via the in-kind contributions from partner organizations. This was also made possible through a one-time contribution fund from Michael Garron Hospital to equip the space and recruit a coordinator position. The overall goal of this pilot is to promote the utilization of services through outreach, while reducing the need for emergency services related to overdoses.
From February 2020 - March 2020, the hub received:
“Members of this community were a key part of the planning process and were consulted regarding supports and services that they felt would benefit their own community.”
“Co-located services at a dedicated site has been key to the Hub’s success. Clients can access a wide array of health and social services in one visit to the Hub. And of the 427 visits, clients reported a 95% satisfaction rate.”
With the emergence of COVID-19, partnering organizations needed to limit many of the in-person service offerings at the site, group sessions ceased and, as a result, service utilization dropped significantly. Despite this setback, the partnering organizations recognize the initial gains that were being achieved and remain committed to continuing to deliver much needed supports to this community beyond the initial pilot. We have extended the pilot into the summer months of 2020 with a reduced and modified suite of service offerings, as we consider how and when to ramp the services back up in a safe and sustainable manner.