St. Joseph's site swap aims to improve access to addiction services in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The Crossroads Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., has officially relocated, marking the next stage in St. Joseph's Care Group's plans to improve access to its addiction services in the northwestern Ontario community.

Essentially, Crossroads has swapped sites with St. Joseph's Care Group's withdrawal management services and safe sobering bed program. As of Thursday:

• Crossroads' 20 pre and post-treatment beds are located at 667 Sibley Dr.
• 25 detox/withdrawal management beds are located at 500 Oliver Rd.
• Seven safe sobering beds, with eight more beds coming this summer, are located at 500 Oliver Rd.

"We now, with these renovations, have more purpose-built space for individuals to work on their goals and to connect with providers as they're working on their recovery and whatever their life goals are for their next step," said St. Joseph's director of addiction services, Nicole Spivak.

Crossroads provides clients with accommodation and on-site support both before and after they complete addiction treatment. 

In the detox program, clients typically stay for three to five days while they manage their withdrawal symptoms, having access to medical intervention and wraparound services.

Meanwhile, the safe sobering beds provide people ages 16 and older who are intoxicated a safe space for up to 24 hours, with the goal of diverting them from ending up in police custody or the emergency department.

All of St. Joseph's addiction services are completely voluntary. 

The site swap was necessary to provide more space for the Crossroads program, while creating a more appropriate layout for St. Joseph's other services, said Spivak.

Ultimately, she said, the goal is to encourage people to access the services they want, when they want them, in the most supportive environment possible.

"It might be intervention for withdrawal, it might be connection to counselling, connecting them to addiction services in the community or other types of services that would meet their needs, whether it be housing or family supports," she said.

"So that when they leave, they have more of a plan and resources."

Addressing addiction with compassion

While 667 Sibley Dr. was undergoing renovations, all of the services were co-located at 500 Oliver Rd. Now, the new Crossroads Centre has space for clients to eat, sleep, do their laundry and participate in programming in a building surrounded by nature.

In the summer, St. Joseph's also hopes to enhance the outdoor space, making room for cultural activities where sage and other traditional Indigenous medicines have already been planted.

"Having a space designed specifically to meet client needs with input from clients and staff makes a huge difference," said Andrea Docherty, vice president of clinical and community care at St. Joseph's, in a news release issued Wednesday.

"It feels like people care — not just about what they are going through now, but about helping them to move forward."

The Thunder Bay district continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in the province, according to Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner.

As community partners continue to work together to address the crisis, Spivak said she hopes St. Joseph's can help build more understanding around what addiction looks like and reduce the stigma surrounding substance use. 

"This is not looking at someone as, 'what is wrong with someone?' But really going to that place of compassion and seeing another member of our community and saying 'what's happened to them, and how can I help?'" she said.

"To really have services that are accessible and timely that people feel safe to access and that they can access when they need, for as long as they need."