$2.5M pilot program to help Sarnia-Lambton's homeless

About three per cent of Sarnia-Lambton ambulance calls are for people with no fixed address, says Lambton EMS's manager.

Yet “those known to be homeless . . . account for 0.2 per cent of Lambton (County)'s population,” Stephen Turner said.

Officials hope a new program will see those people in hospital, or in handcuffs, less often, he said.

Turner and representatives of community agencies — including Bluewater Health, the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team, and the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch — were at the Lambton County administration building Wednesday to announce a three-year pilot program pairing paramedics with Bluewater Health substance-use navigators.

Community Health Integrated Care (CHIC) teams will visit people in homeless camps and shelters seven days a week, between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., to make connections, build relationships, treat wounds, help with harm reduction supplies, do wellness checks, and provide education and referrals to community agencies and primary care, Turner said.

Michael Tibollo, Ontario's associate minister of mental health and addictions, was on hand to announce $2.5 million for the program, designed to ease pressures on hospitals and police.

“This team is going to be of tremendous benefit to the entire county and free up much-needed resources,” he said.

Similar programs are launching in Thunder Bay and Simcoe County at a total cost of $8 million over three years, a provincial release said. Normal ambulance service, including dispatch, will be maintained.

The program differs from mental-health focused teams, like the Mental Health Engagement Response Team launched in Sarnia in 2019, that pair police officers with mental health workers, said Turner.

“Our focus is going to be a bit more on the addictions and overdose space,” he said, noting building trust with clients is key.

Teams won't use ambulances, but arrive in nondescript vehicles, bikes, or on foot, and will be “dressed down a bit,” since “sometimes the uniforms can put people off,” Turner said.

“We're going to take our lead from the people we aim to serve,” he added, noting the plan is to make “compassionate connections.”

There will be two teams, and others to fill in during vacations or illness, Turner said.

Training starts Friday, and teams are expected to start work in early June, Turner said.

Teams will also respond to lower-acuity 911 calls, he said. “Higher acuity calls will probably continue to go to the emergency departments.”

Lambton County council, amid concerns about homeless encampments like the one in Sarnia's Rainbow Park, passed a motion May 1 calling on the province to take the lead on the issue, as municipalities struggle to balance community safety concerns with legal rulings barring removal of camps without offering “truly accessible” indoor shelter spaces.

Third-party legal advice provided to Sarnia council said such spaces don't exist in the community.

Asked about the motion, Tibollo said he wasn't familiar with its exact wording, but he was focused on building a supportive system to provide a “continuum” of mental health and addictions care in the province.

Funding programs like CHIC helps, as does funding for treatment programs and building supportive housing, he said, but it takes time to identify and fill systemic gaps.

“We're trying to build that capacity to look after people until we can get them the more permanent solutions, like housing and the supports that they need,” he said.

Building system capacity and working with municipalities continues, he said. “Unfortunately, it just takes time.”