Windsor's health unit ends tenancy on former SafePoint building
The local health unit will officially be cutting ties with the former SafePoint building in downtown Windsor.
Though the treatment and consumption service has been closed for nearly a year, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) said in a news release Friday that it will officially end its tenancy of the building.
"Direction provided by the Ministry of Health has been clear that the use of this space for its intended purpose will no longer be possible with the introduction of new systems and supports for those struggling with addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues," said Ken Blanchette, CEO of the health unit, in a statement.
The site, located at Wyandotte Street East and Goyeau Street, has been closed since January. The province had previously announced a review of all consumption sites after a woman died in a shooting outside one in Toronto last year.
At the time, SafePoint's provincial application was stalled. The health unit had been funding it through its own budget but could not sustain the cost.
Over the summer, Sylvia Jones, minister of health, announced the government would ban sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare — which SafePoint's location on Wyandotte Street is — and not approve any new sites.
Instead, the ministry announced hundreds of millions for new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs. Windsor is actively pursuing one of these hubs.
The health unit is "actively involved" in the HART hub application, Blanchette said and is committed "to enhancing harm reduction programs and supporting people in our community who use substances."
