Federal government gives $1.2 million to St. Catharines addiction centre

Niagara | St Catharines | Community | Health |

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Published November 28, 2022 at 10:09 am

REACH Niagara's Mobile Health Clinic provides trauma-informed, primary medical treatments, mental health services, addiction support and COVID-19 screening directly to those who need it most.

As part of National Addiction Week, the federal government announced over $15 million in funds for substance addiction programs and of that, a facility in St. Catharines saw over $1.2 million.

REACH Niagara (126 Niagara St.) will use the funding to increase safer supply and provide pharmaceutical alternatives.

“Treating substance use as a criminal issue has not been effective, and we need to continue investing in harm reduction, safer supply, and other supportive measures rather than policing this issue,” said St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle during the announcement.

“With this investment into REACH Niagara we can support the most vulnerable people in our community with harm reduction, overdose prevention, and necessary support services. We must continue to invest in safer supply and harm reduction programs to assist our community’s most vulnerable and combat the plight of toxic drugs on our streets.”

REACH Niagara has a growing number of care providers – including doctors, foot-care providers, nurse practitioners, social workers and community outreach workers, as well as community partners such as Niagara Region EMS – to help make healthcare accessible to marginalized communities.

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