Greater Sudbury’s HART Hub in support people struggling with homelessness, addiction to launch this month

In Sudbury on Thursday, community partners came together to announce the official opening of the HART hub on Elm Street in the city’s downtown core.

A new provincially funded hub designed to connect individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges and addiction with integrated health and social services will open its downtown doors on this month.

The Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub, located at 105 Elm St., represents the final phase of a broader initiative in Greater Sudbury. It is one of 28 such hubs being launched across Ontario as part of a nearly $550 million provincial investment.

Phased implementation

The downtown hub is not a shelter, drop-in, or warming centre. According to officials, it is designed to complement existing community services through scheduled appointments, planned programming and mobile outreach referrals. Services will include intake and care planning, housing-focused support, access to primary care, mental health and addictions services and social supports like ID assistance and peer support.

Shkagamik-Kwe CEO Angela Recollet clarified the hub’s function.

“The Hart Hub has been created to house all the partners in one space to work together collaboratively to identify a larger capacity of individuals in need,” Recollet said.

The opening culminates a phased local implementation. The first phase, the Lotus Transitional Housing Program on Lorraine Street, has been operating since 2025. It provides 40 units of supportive transitional housing for up to two years, with 24/7 clinical staffing. As of January 2026, eight individuals have moved into permanent housing.

The second phase involved expanding mobile outreach teams and launching 48 scattered-site supportive housing units across the city operated by community partners. Nine individuals were housed in those units as of January.

Collaborative model

The initiative is a collaboration between the province, the City of Greater Sudbury, and several agencies: Health Sciences North (HSN), Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre, Monarch Recovery Services, the Canadian Mental Health Association – Sudbury/Manitoulin, and the Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA).

Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Vijay Thanigasalam emphasized the province-wide strategy

“We are building a stronger, more connected system of mental health and addictions care that better reflects the needs of communities and focuses on lasting recovery,” said Thanigasalam in a provincial news release.

“The opening of the Greater Sudbury HART Hub marks a meaningful step forward in connecting people to the care they need, close to home,” he added in a municipal release.

Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre highlighted the hub’s role in simplifying access to care.

“The opening of the downtown HART Hub marks a major step forward in how we support people facing homelessness, mental health challenges, and addiction in our community,” said Lefebvre.

“It’s all about reducing the barriers for these individuals right. So, this HART Hub that’s what it’s about going to one spot where they can find the services that they need to navigate the system.”

Partner perspectives

Community partners involved in the steering committee expressed hope for the collaborative model’s impact.

“We all see and work with the same population and often that is done in isolation. What the Hart Hub has facilitated is strengthening the partnerships,” said Dr. Tara Leary, an addiction services lead at HSN.

Monarch Recovery Services CEO Roxanne Zuck connected housing stability to broader recovery.

“What we have learned is that once someone is stable in their own home a lot of other things fall into place,” she said.

“They find their way in recovery.”

Recollet detailed the partnership’s groundwork.

“A program rollout from the province of Ontario and the six partners… have been working for several months to put to action the roll out,” she said.

“We have been diligent in strengthening partnerships among the six core organizations… while working closely with our government partners, including the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health, Ontario Health North and the Centre of Excellence.”

Expected outcomes

Officials anticipate the coordinated care approach will reduce pressure on emergency services.

The city said the hub is “expected to reduce reliance on emergency departments, emergency services, police and shelters, allowing those systems to focus on urgent and emergency needs while strengthening community safety and wellbeing.”

The services available through the HART Hub network, as listed in the provincial release, include:

• Mental health services
• Addictions services
• Primary care
• Mobile care community outreach
• Supportive and transitional housing
• Social supports including peer support and skill-building programming

The downtown Sudbury HART Hub begins full operations on Feb. 17.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Alana Everson