There will soon be a new way for residents to access critical mental health and addiction support in Waterloo region.
A partnership between Thresholds Homes and Supports and the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington has resulted in the region's first Integrated Crisis Centre opening at 298 Lawrence Ave in Kitchener by the end of the month.
Helen Fishburn, CEO of CMHA Waterloo Wellington, said the need in the community for more easily accessible services has only gone up in the past four to five years.
"Since the pandemic we’ve seen a change in the baseline of need, not only with higher volumes but significant complexities, acuity and risk issues," Fishburn said.
"Visit any downtown and you’ll see homelessness, severe mental health and addiction issues. People are much more ill in our community than we’ve seen before."
The centre is based in Kitchener but is meant to serve the entire region, with the goal of speeding up the rate of care and providing an alternative option to hospitals.
Fishburn has heard too many stories of people in crisis sitting in emergency rooms for hours.
"They'll be sitting in there next to someone with a broken arm," she said.
"They need an environment designed for their needs with skilled staff. It's about being able to divert people from the hospital and create a formal alternate destination pathway for paramedics to drop people off. It saves lives and money because the most expensive system isn’t needed."
The idea for the Kitchener centre draws inspiration from one that's already operational in London, which Fishburn said has seen "exceptional results."
Locally, a committee involving the region's paramedics, police, mental health care providers and people with lived experience have assisted in the creation of the model.
Kitchener will see a phased approach, with services available Tuesday to Saturday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The eventual plan is to have it fully operational and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But to start, it'll operate with both Thresholds Homes and Supports and CMHA reallocating resources to provide care, meaning no additional funding is being used.
Fishburn confirmed that a full funding proposal has been submitted to Ontario Health and she's hopeful for the outcome after a similar centre in York-Simcoe recently received financial backing.
"We want to open our doors and welcome people who are struggling, whether they’re in crisis or not safe to be on their own," she said.
"There's no rigid boxes people need to check to come in. We want them to literally show up and we can help support them in the moment, in the short term and in the long term. We want to be there for them."
With the centre planning to be opened by July 30, next steps, including a location in Cambridge, is already on the minds of organizers.
"We're working closely with the Cambridge-North Dumfries Ontario Health Team on how we can mobilize a clinic there," Fishburn said.
"That’s the next phase of development."
