Some provincial money is coming to Belleville for help with the addiction crisis but it’s not exactly what the city has asked for.
On Thursday, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, Mayor Neil Ellis, first responders, the Canadian Mental Health Association Hasting Prince Edward (CMHA HPE) and other community partners met to discuss the increase in drug overdoses in the region.
In a post-meeting news release, Smith announced the Ontario government has provided $216,000 in one-time funding to meet the immediate needs of Belleville and surrounding communities.
Smith says the funding will quickly increase staffing at local support services and increase the presence of community outreach teams and first responders within the downtown area.
He adds that the money is in addition to the work the government has done to set up an Incident Management and Support Table in the region to ensure sufficient health human resources and medical supplies, such as naloxone and that this year alone, his government has invested over
$35 million to support mental health services in Belleville and increased base funding for
community-based mental health and addiction organizations across the province by five per
cent.
Mayor Ellis and the city had requested $2 million from the province to establish The Bridge, a combined homelessness, addictions and mental health resource centre as well as funding to establish a detox centre.
The mayor has yet to comment on the meeting.
