St. Joseph's Care Group prepares for site swap to expand capacity for Thunder Bay's detox program

The only withdrawal management program in Thunder Bay, Ont., is being moved into a larger space to expand its capacity.

St. Joseph's Care Group runs a number of addiction and mental health services in the northwestern Ontario city, including live-in recovery treatment, counselling, outpatient services and a supported transitional living program.

At the Balmoral Centre on Sibley Drive, it manages the city's 25 detox beds. At the Crossroads Centre on Oliver Road, which integrated with St. Joseph's Care Group in April, it offers 20 pre and post-treatment beds with on-site support. The organization is also a partner with the community's Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinics.

In order to make more room for the withdrawal management program, the Balmoral Centre and Crossroads Centre are swapping sites.

Both programs will operate at the Oliver Road building later this fall, while renovations take place at the Sibley Drive location. By summer 2025, the Crossroads Centre is hoped to permanently move from Oliver Road to Sibley Drive.

"Crossroads Centre will be renovated to meet the needs and provide the services to individuals that will be more accessible, safe and welcoming," said Nicole Spivak, director of addiction services with St. Joseph's Care Group.

"It will also allow space, which we don't have currently, to involve other programs."

A town hall meeting is being held on Thursday at the Oliver Road Community Centre from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. ET, where community members will have the chance to speak with staff and members of Superior North EMS and the Thunder Bay Police Service about the changes.

In 2021, St. Joseph's Care Group submitted a proposal for a 40-bed detox facility, which would include integrated mental health and addiction support.

CBC News requested an update from the province this summer on the status of that application. Hannah Jensen, deputy director of communications for Health Minister Sylvia Jones, confirmed that a proposal for a detox bed facility was received by Ontario Health, a provincial Crown agency. CBC News has not received any updates on the proposal's status.

At the end of 2022, the jury that oversaw the joint inquest into the deaths of Don Mamakwa and Roland McKay in Thunder Bay recommended a safe sobering centre be created in the city. St. Joseph's Care Group was involved in the task force looking into the creation of such a space.

"We received positive signals, but it's still going through the processes with our funder — so in the meantime, we're just going to focus on the renovations and moving those spaces over," Spivak said.

The organization's priority is to maintain a continuum of care to meet people's needs, she said.

"We really want to be able to respond as timely as possible, so although one program might have a wait-list or requirements for application … it's looking at other options that might be available in programs to reduce that wait," Spivak said.