CMHA TVAMHS Announces HART Hub Central Service Location

February 4, 2025

The Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction & Mental Health Services (CMHA TVAMHS) is pleased to share that the central services for London’s Homelessness Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub will be located at The Salvation Army London Centre of Hope.

“We are excited to bring the HART Hub to The Salvation Army London Centre of Hope,” says Dean Astolfi, VP of Supportive Housing and Program Development at CMHA TVAMHS.
“This facility is a natural choice. It meets the immediate needs of individuals seeking stability and treatment while allowing for connection to a continuum of services to prepare them for the next step in their journey.”

Building on the Salvation Army’s history of providing emergency shelter, meals, and community support, the HART Hub aims to reduce barriers for anyone looking to stabilize their health and living situation.

“We have always worked to foster hope, dignity, and positive change,” says Jon DeActis, Executive Director of The Salvation Army London Centre of Hope. “By integrating HART Hub services into our facility, we can continue that mission and deepen our impact in the community. This partnership is a way to support people in London with the resources and care they need.”

To ensure easy access to services, programming will be offered in a central location and existing facilities will be used to offer additional supports and entry points to the HART Hub system. Once clients enter the HART system, the suite of services offered will support their recovery journey that best meets their individual needs.

“The suite of services available in the HART system meets individuals where they’re at,” says Astolfi.
“We will be able to offer crisis support, basic needs, primary care, counselling, and many more wellness options to individuals who enter the Hub. The goal of the HART Hub is to prepare people for long term stable housing and reduce stress on shelter systems and emergency care.”

Services to be offered at London’s HART Hub include:

• Addiction Recovery & Treatment: Intake, screening, assessment, and treatment planning, along with one-on-one and group counselling.
• Mental Health Care: Assessments, treatment, and prevention; support for crisis intervention and care planning.
• Crisis Support: On-site intervention focused on de-escalation, emotional support, and immediate stabilization.
• Peer Support: One-to-one and group programs led by professionals with lived experience, fostering hope, wellness, and personal growth.
• Basic Needs: Access to food, showers, and hygiene.
• Primary Healthcare: Ongoing healthcare including nursing services for wound care, medication management, and comprehensive medical support.
• Supportive Housing & Housing Access: Programs designed to stabilize and maintain housing, including connections to rent supplements and ongoing housing resources.
• Income & Employment Supports: Guidance with income applications, job training, and barriers to employment.
• Integrated Care Planning: A shared data system enables flexible, collaborative care that adapts to changing needs. This data will allow HART Hub to better understand the community’s needs and improve services.
• Culturally Safe Care: Building positive relationships with local communities to offer respectful, inclusive services. This includes ensuring communication is accessible, including multiple languages, sign language, and simplified materials.

The implementation of this HART Hub expands the services at CMHA TVAMHS. The agency will remain a provider of a full continuum of addiction care and mental health supports. London’s HART Hub is expected to be operational this spring and to offer 60 spaces in the HART Hub, and an additional 60 supportive housing units in it’s first year.

“Along with our partners, we’re working to move this initiative forward,” says Astolfi.
“This substantial investment in our community is an opportunity to support the Londoners who are most in need of rapid access to in-depth services.”

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About Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services is an integrated mental health and addiction agency providing community-based supports and services across Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, and South Huron Counties. The continuum of services includes crisis intervention and virtual supports, mobile crisis teams, police partnerships, case management, counseling, and community wellness programs for both individuals and their families. Supportive Housing and addiction medicine services are also available. Treatment and service plans are developed based on standardized screening and assessment protocols and procedures. The organization was established in April 2021 when three organizations (Addiction Services of Thames Valley, CMHA Elgin-Middlesex, and CMHA Oxford) united to better serve the mental health and addiction needs of the Thames Valley Region.  It is guided by its vision to “provide timely mental health and addiction services, education, and advocacy to ignite hope and support change for all”.
www.cmhatv.ca

Media Contact:

Jillian Driessen | Communications Coordinator
CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services
communications@cmhatv.ca | 519-673-3242 ext. 1293