SMITHS FALLS — Ontario has opened a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in Smiths Falls, marking the latest step in the province’s push to expand community-based mental-health and addictions services while addressing housing instability. The facility is one of 28 HART Hubs being rolled out across the province as part of a nearly $550-million investment announced earlier this year.
The new hub, which begins delivering services on December 8, is designed as an integrated point of care for people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental-health challenges in Lanark County and surrounding regions. Operated in collaboration with Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (LLGMAH), the project includes two sites: the Smiths Falls location opening this month and a Brockville hub slated for spring 2026.
Provincial officials say the model is intended to build a more coordinated and recovery-focused system of support. “We are building a stronger, more connected system of mental health and addictions care that better reflects the needs of communities and focuses on lasting recovery,” said Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions. “The opening of this new HART Hub will ensure that people struggling with mental health and addictions challenges in Lanark County and surrounding communities, can get the care they need on their path to recovery, while keeping the community safe.”
HART Hubs serve as centralized access points for a suite of services that include primary care, counselling, addictions treatment, supportive housing, and social services such as vocational programs and employment assistance. The province says the model is meant to reduce barriers by uniting clinical teams, social-service agencies, and community organizations to coordinate support for individuals who often face fragmented systems and limited access.
LLGMAH, which is partnering with more than 50 community organizations to operate the regional hub network, says the integrated approach will give clients a clearer pathway to stability. “We are honoured to welcome clients to begin their recovery journey at our Lanark Leeds and Grenville HART Hub,” said Kim Gifford, the organization’s CEO. “The Ontario government’s HART Hub model offers our communities low-barrier access to a full continuum of mental health and addictions care that will give individuals a real opportunity for lasting recovery and, in some cases, a pathway out of homelessness or unstable housing.”
Local legislators praised the initiative as a needed addition to the region’s health-care and social-support landscape. “The HART Hub in Smiths Falls is a welcome addition to health services in Lanark County,” said John Jordan, MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. “This funding represents vital partnerships and collaboration between the Province, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health and over 50 community organizations. The HART Hub will bring together mental and primary health services, transitional housing and social supports, all under one roof. It’ll not only give some of our most vulnerable residents a way out of crisis, but a pathway toward stability and hope.”
Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, said the hub fills a significant gap in local treatment capacity. “Congratulations to the entire team at Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health on the opening of the HART Hub in Smiths Falls,” Clark said. “I appreciate their hard work and leadership in opening this facility and look forward to the opening of the Brockville treatment facility. Today is a milestone for providing treatment and hope of a new path forward for individuals and their families in our community whose lives have been disrupted by addiction.”
The HART program is part of the province’s broader Your Health plan and builds on Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness strategy, which commits $3.8 billion over 10 years to strengthening mental-health and addictions care. According to the government, nine former Consumption and Treatment Services sites transitioned into HART Hubs as of April 2025, expanding their scope to include treatment and recovery services. Unlike those earlier sites, the hubs do not provide safer supply, supervised consumption, or needle-exchange programs, reflecting a provincial shift toward treatment-led approaches.
The government says the hub network will also add nearly 900 supportive-housing units across Ontario—more than 300 above the original target—to help individuals move into stable, long-term housing as they progress through recovery.
With the Smiths Falls hub opening this month and additional sites scheduled to come online through 2026, the province aims to establish a consistent model of coordinated care across urban and rural communities. For regions like Lanark, Leeds, and Grenville, where demand for mental-health and addictions services continues to rise, officials say the hub framework offers a scalable way to connect people with the “right care at the right time” while easing pressure on emergency and acute-care systems.
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