A pilot project in Guelph is providing people with a safe and supportive place to sleep as they recover from substance use.
The Supported Recovery Room is a two-bed facility at a Wyndham House location aimed at getting people the sleep they need to make better decisions and perhaps connecting them with services that can help them recover.
Checked and monitored by Guelph paramedics, people can stay up to 72 hours.
“It really provides a safe place for folks to recover and come down from substance use,” said Jan Klotz, client care supervisor with Guelph Community Health and the program director.
In its first two weeks it has seen 12 admissions totalling 226 hours of support.
“It's designed to help folks who struggle with cyclical substance use, because what happens is they keep using because they need to stay up all night and they’re not sleeping and they keep using, so they don’t have a safe place to recover. They get more and more sleep deprived and their crisis and their mental health continues to worsen.”
Klotz said they are people who are not sick enough to be hospitalized, but not really stable enough to utilize other community resources. Bounced from agency to agency, they often wind up in the hospital emergency room.
Information and connection to other community resources are provided for those staying at the recovery room through an addiction clinician attached to the project.
There are also guidelines for those using it: they must be 16 or older, medically stable, be recovering from substance use and have no other place to recover, not have weapons and cannot use drugs or alcohol while they are there. Most of all they must be ready and willing to sleep.
“It’s about increasing people’s wellness and by increasing their wellness we are enabling them the opportunity of getting connected and engaged to other resources and programs to help make positive changes,” Klotz said, adding that community safety is also enhanced.
It is not a drop-in location, although that might be something that is explored in the future, Klotz said. Those using the beds are referred there by Guelph Police, Guelph General Hospital or other community agencies.
The project is a joint venture between Guelph Community Health Centre, Guelph Emergency Medical Services, Wyndham House and Stonehenge Therapeutic Community and Guelph Wellington Drug Strategy and Towards Common Ground.
“It’s a small piece of the puzzle, but it’s an important piece,” Klotz said. “It’s about meeting people where they are at and providing them with a safe place to get that sleep that they need.”
The pilot project wraps up in March.
“We would love it to be extended, but also broadened,” Klotz said.
