THUNDER BAY — A new location was opened Thursday for a residential program that will support people in their addiction recovery journey.
The Crossroads Centre relocated to its new home at 667 Sibley Drive, and the new permanent location offers a supportive place to stay for people before and after they access withdrawal and safe sobering services.
Construction has been underway at the new Crossroads Centre on Sibley Drive since December 2024, with clients and staff guiding the way.
“We're at Sibley Drive, which previously was where our withdrawal management services were located in December of 2024. They were relocated to Oliver Road, and tomorrow, Crossroads Centre will be fully moving into this renovated site,” said Nicole Spivak, director of addiction services with St. Joseph's Care Group.
Spivak said the services offered at Crossroads Centre will transition over to the new site, with additional partners now able to with residents on-site.
“We will continue to focus on developing connections to peers and community and supporting through groups that cover topics as far as relapse prevention,” she said.
The work to have Crossroads Centre and St. Joseph's withdrawal management services swap places started last year.
“Crossroads Centre is pre' and post-treatment for individuals that are waiting to attend a live-in or next treatment environment and also post-treatment services for individuals that have completed a program. They have supports as they apply the skills and insights that they acquired from that treatment experience.
“In our withdrawal management and safe sobering services, that's much more short term for individuals and really to support them if they're withdrawing from substances or to provide a safe place if they're intoxicated at the time,” Spivak said.
She said with the voluntary integration of Crossroads Centre with St. Joseph's Care Group, came the opportunity to look at space considerations.
“Where Crossroads was located, it was more space than what the program required to support individuals and with withdrawal management, in the space that they were at the time, they were overcapacity to meet the needs.
“Through that and through the planning, the decision was made and planning began to essentially swap sites for the programs. Ensuring that both spaces meet the needs of the individuals both now and moving forward, but also to safely serve individuals as their level of care may change.”
The team at St. Joseph’s Care Group is excited to see this come to life on Thursday, Spivak said.
“Having a space that has been fully renovated to meet the needs of individuals, has been exciting, so it's a very highly coordinated move.
“It will happen very quickly with absolutely no interruption to services, ensuring that individuals seamlessly transition with no interruption in their recovery but very exciting knowing that the space is going to provide them with opportunities that wasn't available at the other site, specifically with access to outdoor space and connection to the community.”
The need continues to rise in out community, Spivak said.
“We're really proud of our partnerships to come up with shared visions and opportunities to meet those needs of individuals that we are serving. It's just really important that individuals across the whole continuum of their recovery are available to them.
“We know that recovery doesn't come in one form. For some individuals, they may be seeking a treatment, for other individuals that might be connecting with community and making those changes within their life and their life roles.
“For us, it's just really important that we are able to meet the person where they're at, that services are accessible (and) that they're safe,” she said.
Spivak said the services are important to our community.
“There is no wrong door, regardless of where an individual may go to ask for help, if that service isn't available at that location that we have those partnerships to be able to connect that person to where they want to go.
“We look at ways to meet those needs and provide support and services, we are really honoured to share that journey with individuals who are members of our community. Really working with individuals and amplifying the voice of individuals with lived and living experience, to really advocate and change the perspective . . . other parts of our community may not fully understand what addiction is, and that it doesn't define the person,” she said.
