Belleville service hub for those struggling with addiction, homelessness to open in 2026

OttawaWork is underway to transform a former banquet hall in Belleville, Ont., into a 22-hour-a-day support hub for some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.Eastern Ontario city remains under state of emergency declared almost 2 years agoDan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 3:54 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Lisa Ali, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association Hastings Prince Edward, said Belleville, Ont., and the surrounding area remains in crisis nearly two years after a state of emergency related to homelessness and addiction was declared. (Dan Taekema/CBC)Work is underway to transform a former banquet hall in Belleville, Ont., into a 22-hour-a-day support hub for some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.The first time Lisa Ali and Ashley Vader visited the site at 1 Alhambra Sq. there were still old pop bottles and albums with photos from past weddings lying around.On Friday, as they walked past freshly installed drywall, the two staff members with the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Hastings Prince Edward branch (CMHA HPE) could start to visualize how the building will fulfil its new role.”We are very, very excited,” said Vader, who manages The Bridge Integrated Care Hub, which is temporarily operating out of a warehouse while construction continues. “We can’t wait to be in a permanent space.”The community remains under a state of emergency related to homelessness and addiction, declared in February 2024 after 14 people in the downtown core overdosed in just a few hours.Ali, who is CEO of CMHA HPE, said two years on the city is still struggling.”The urgency absolutely hasn’t changed,” she said on Friday. “We are in the midst of a crisis here in Belleville.”The ground floor of The Bridge is expected to open early next spring, with the rest of the project finishing later in 2026.A former banquet hall in Belleville, Ont., is the new home of The Bridge Integrated Care Hub, which supports some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. (Dan Taekema/CBC)It not only doubles the current building’s size, but will offer dedicated space for a medical clinic and other services including addictions counselling and employment help.The site will also allow people to take showers, do their laundry, eat meals and rest up, according to Vader.It will be one of three pillars that make up the new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub for the area.The ground floor of The Bridge is expected to open next spring. It will include a medical clinic and space for counselling and employment support. (Dan Taekema/CBC)The second is an outreach team made up of mental health and addictions workers, along with paramedics who will provide service across the region. Twenty-two transitional housing units make up the final piece of the plan.Those initiatives will be funded with $6.3 million annually from the province. That money has allowed The Hub to provide service 22 hours a day since November, doubling its previous hours of operation.A ‘bridge’ toward recoveryVader said staff worked with the people who rely on their services to make sure the new building will meet their needs, and intend to continue consulting them on a quarterly basis.”They can’t wait for the bigger space,” she said.The second storey of the building will include space for staff and an area where visitors can rest and warm up. (Dan Taekema/CBC)Ali estimated at least 300 people are currently homeless in the community, which has just 21 shelter beds.”They’re struggling without a place to go, and what The Bridge will provide is that safe place … that is hopefully going to move them from homelessness into recovery,” she said.ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area. He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter