SIOUX LOOKOUT — The Ontario government, in partnership with the Sioux Lookout Friendship Accord and Kenora District Services Board, has opened 16 new supportive treatment beds in Sioux Lookout to connect people and families in the region facing mental health and addictions challenges with faster and easier access to high-quality care closer to home.
“Our government is continuing to build a better connected and patient-centred mental health and addictions system that meets the needs of Ontario patients and families, no matter where they live,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Funding for these new beds will help ensure residents can connect to the care they need close to home.”
Through the Addictions Recovery Fund, the province has invested over $4 million to bring addictions treatment beds and services to hundreds of people living in Sioux Lookout and surrounding areas. In addition to the 16 new supportive treatment beds that are now available, this funding will also support 15 new addiction treatment beds and six withdrawal management beds which will open by the end of 2023.
“We are making it possible for people to get more timely, convenient care by expanding access to recovery-oriented mental health and addictions care in Northern Ontario,” said Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “These 16 new supportive treatment beds in Sioux Lookout are one more way our government is lowering barriers for people in rural and Indigenous communities across Northwest Ontario to connect to the support they need. Our focus is, and always will be, ensuring that help is available where and when it is needed.”
The Ontario government released the Roadmap to Wellness, its community service-focused, “ground-up” mental health and addictions plan in 2020. Since then, the province has added additional investments and innovative new programs to improve mental health and addictions services for communities across Ontario. With initiatives like this one in Sioux Lookout, the Ontario government is making sure individuals of all ages, all across the province, can connect to the mental health and addictions services and support they need, when they need it.