Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub (ICH) showcases new beginnings following its September closure.
The ICH reopened on Oct. 17, over a month after a set of stabbings outside the hub’s premises forced its temporary closure. The incident sparked city councilors to call for additional safety measures around the ICH, with Mayor Bryan Paterson calling for its closure. The hub has since introduced new safety measures, showcased in its three open houses from Dec. 11 to 19.
According to their website, the ICH is a multi-service building aimed at ing Kingston’s most vulnerable population. Located at 661 Montreal St., the building is operated by a group of community partners, including Addiction and Mental Health Services—Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (AMHS-KFLA), Trellis, Kingston Community Health Centre, Providence Care, and HomeBase. The ICH offers access to showers, food, and a sleeping area with a 28-person capacity, as well as harm reduction s like needle exchanges and a supervised consumption site.
READ MORE: Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub opens its doors following September closure
Julie Lambert, program manager at AMHS-KFLA—an ICH community partner group—went into greater detail about the efforts they’ve made in prioritizing safety at the ICH.
“We looked at safety all around […] now you’ll see a fence outside, we have third-party security on-site when we’re open 24 hours [and] they’ll be on property 24 hours. We want everybody to feel safe—the people that access services, our staff and the community,” Lambert said in an interview with The Journal.
Lambert explained the ICH has shifted its focus to addressing the community’s current needs of housing and drug overdoses, moving away from its original purpose of providing to residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now we’re more about meeting people’s unmet needs and making sure they get the services they need so they can move on whatever journey they’re on,” Lambert said.
Carol Ravnaas, executive director of client services of AMHS-KFLA, echoed these efforts and emphasized the importance of having a centralized place for individuals who need this sort of care.
“I think we’re really fortunate to have an ICH here and partners that work really closely together because otherwise, people are dispersed throughout the city and it’s really hard for them to get connected to care and that’s the beauty of a place like this,” Ravnaas said in an interview with The Journal.
Ravnaas outlined how stigma plays a role in accessing these resources and how she feels celebrities speaking out about their own struggles with mental health have been beneficial in breaking down some of this stigma.
“Some of the celebrities that have really stood out and said ‘I have a mental health concerns’ or ‘I have bipolar [disorder]’ or ‘I have an addiction,’ […] certainly helps us say ‘we’re here to help,’” Ravnaas said.
The ICH, currently open seven days a week, 23 hours a day, is focusing on taking an “intentional engagement” approach with the individuals they service, encouraging staff to really get to know those seeking help to learn how the Hub can best assist them, Ravnaas added.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].