House of Friendship opens new addiction treatment centre in Cambridge

After a devestating fire and construction delays, the House of Friendship has opened its addiction treatment centre in Cambridge.

The centre,located at 562 Concession Rd., would normally be able to serve up to 15 to 20 men for the long-termresidential treatment services, but will now serve up to 10 men to maintain of COVID-19 safety precautions. Each of the men will get their own room instead of sharing to keep more physical distancing, according to the centre.

Men live at the facility for three to six months for the long-term residential treatment, whichstarted this week.The centre will provideday service for men and women as well starting thisfall.

Through the pandemic, House of Friendship has also been offering virtual services for people recovering from addictions, according toTara Groves-Taylor, the addiction services director for House of Friendship.

"Our region is faced with quite a crisis, certainly an opioid crisis for sure," Groves-Taylor said. "Addictions and substance issues aren't going away, so this centre, I hope, will represent a place where people will come to heal."

From January to August there have been54 overdose deaths in the region compared to 47 for the same time period in 2019.

The centre is funded through the Local Health Integration Network and local donors.

Opening after years of delays

The project was supposed to open in 2018, but expanding the centre to include a second floor and a fire to the buildingin 2019 caused delays.

House of Friendship has felt a groundswell of support in Cambridge in recent months,Groves-Taylor said.

She said that wasn't the case when the project was first proposed, but there was a shift in response after the fire last year.

"Up until that point, we hadn't felt quite as much of a welcoming perspective in the community, but that fire was a bit of a catalyst I think," saidGroves-Taylor.

"People really started to become aware of House of Friendship and become aware of addiction services and what programs like ours represent."

House of Friendship staff went door-to-door last week to meet neighbours andGroves-Taylor said there are already some people who are offering to volunteer.

"We're really feeling a lot more welcome at this point and we're just so happy to be able to move in. It's been a journey," said Groves-Taylor.