Getting into OHIP Public Addiction Treatment

Marie* went to Leipzig Serenity Retreat in Saskatchewan. She didn’t say when she attended or how long she had remained sober post-treatment, but she relapsed.

Marie also didn’t want to go to the AA meetings because she didn’t feel comfortable without the support of people like the LSR staff and alumni.

She was worried about paying for treatment a second time if it didn’t work the first time. I asked her if she had made any effort to seek out a therapist or call the program back. She said I did a few times and then stopped.

Since Marie’s current option seems to only be public treatment, we gave information on assessment offices, detox units, and residential treatment programs and told her that she needed to do her homework.

This section covers OHIP funded treatment programs. To get into a government funded program there are set of steps that typically need to happen:

1. You will need to be sober (A medically-supervised withdrawal unit is suggested for those with severe alcohol use and dependency).
2. Once you are sober, book an appointment with a drug and alcohol counsellor at the closest local mental health and addiction office.
3. The counsellor will likely (1) refer you to an outpatient program as an interim solution and (2) put you on a waitlist for a residential treatment program.
4. Once wait listed, it is important to stay sober before your intake date (which could be weeks to months). This means going to peer-support meetings, attending outpatient therapy, keeping busy and not becoming idle (e.g. volunteering, going to the gym, or anything that will keep you occupied until it’s treatment time).
5. Once in residential treatment, clients will spend their time in an intensified treatment program. With the pre-treatment sober time and new personal knowledge and understanding of coping, relapse prevention, and self-awareness, a person can hopefully return back home and learn to flourish in a life.

It will be beneficial to research the programs you may be referred to. Here are some questions to consider asking to ensure your needs are met once you start treatment.

Once you have answers to those basic questions. There are typically two options from this point:

1. This program isn’t going to work because you don’t like the sound of the program, the wait list is too long, or too expensive. So the next step is to call the next program.
2. You like this program and you start asking them the following questions.

DETOX (These are the closest withdrawal units close to you)

Norfolk General Hospital – Holmes House
394 West Street Simcoe, ON N3Y 1T9
Phone: (519) 428-1911 Toll-Free: 1(888) 999-4966 Fax: (519) 428-7756
Website: http://www.ngh.on.ca/services/detox.html

Niagara Health System – Niagara Regional Women’s Withdrawal Management Service
6 Adams Street St. Catharines, ON L2R 2V8
Phone: (905) 682-7211 ext.2 Phone: (905) 687-8639
Website: www.drugandalcoholhelpline.ca/Directory/Program/6850

Alexandra Hospital – Centre of Hope Withdrawal Management Centre
281 Wellington Street London, ON N6B 2L4
Phone: (519) 432-7241 Fax: (519) 672-4025
Website: http://www.drugandalcoholhelpline.ca/Directory/Program/6095

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH)
Womankind Addiction Service
431 Whitney Avenue Hamilton, ON L8S 2H6
Phone: (905) 545-9100

The link below is where we collect this information from. If you want to look at other cities you can use our directory to search other options: http://www.canadadrugrehab.ca/ON/Ontario-Medical-Detox-Alcohol-Drug-Rehab-Programs.html#medical

ASSESSMENT AND OUTPATIENT LOCATIONS

Simcoe Outpatient Agencies

Community Addiction and Mental Health Services of Haldimand and Norfolk West Street Medical Centre
103-216 West Street 
Simcoe, ON N3Y 1S8
Phone: (519) 426-3257 
Toll-Free: 1(877) 909-4357
E-Mail: addictions@amhs.ca

Norfolk General Hospital
- Holmes House
394 West Street
Simcoe, ON N3Y 1T9
Phone: (519) 428-1911
 Toll-Free: 1(888) 999-4966
 E-Mail: lpollet@ngh.on.ca

New Credit Social and Health Services
RR 6 
Hagersville, ON N0A 1H0
Phone: (905) 768-1181

Tillsonburg Outpatient Agencies

Addiction Services of Thames Valley (ADSTV)
96 Tillson Avenue 
Tillsonburg, ON N4G3A1
Phone: (519) 673-3242 
ext.222 
E-Mail: intake@adstv.on.ca

RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS

Here is a list of all the OHIP funded programs. Using this list of questions, you can start calling these programs to see if they have a bed available sooner rather than later. There are more options on the list, but the ones I did not copy and paste are either private or faith-based programs. Below is the link where I got these programs from: http://www.canadadrugrehab.ca/ON/Ontario-Residential-Alcohol-Drug-Rehab-Programs.html#adult

St. Joseph’s General Hospital Elliot Lake – Camillus Centre
3-9 Oakland Boulevard Elliot Lake, ON P5A 2T1
Phone: (705) 848-2652 Intake Phone: (705) 848-2129 ext. 242 Website: www.sjgh.ca.

Homewood Addiction Services
150 Delhi Street Guelph, ON N1E 6K9
Intake Phone: (519) 824-1010 ext.2551 Toll-Free: 1(866) 839-2594
Fax: (519) 767-3533
E-Mail: admit@homewood.org Website: www.homewood.org

Stonehenge Therapeutic Community
60 Westwood Rd. Guelph, ON N1H 7X3
Women’s program: (519) 837-1470 ext. 226 Fax: (519) 837-3232
E-Mail: info@stonehengetc.com Website: www.stonehengetc.com

Womankind Addiction Service – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
431 Whitney Avenue Hamilton, ON L8S 2H6
Phone: (905) 521-9591 ext. 237 E-Mail: lwhalen@stjosham.on.ca
Website: http://www.stjoes.ca/default.asp?action=article&ID=626

Hope Place Centres Women’s Treatment Centre
9605 Regional Road 25 Milton, ON L9T 2X7
Phone: (905) 875-3214 ext.303 Toll-Free: 1(877) 399-7299
Fax: (905) 875-3635 E-Mail: intake@hopeplacecentres.org
Website: hopeplacecentres.org/womens_residential.html

North Bay General Hospital – Nipissing Detoxification and Substance Abuse Programs
A-120 King Street W North Bay, ON P1B 5Z7
Phone: (705) 476-6240 Fax: (705) 476-6136 E-Mail: ndsapinfo@nbgh.on.ca
Website: North Bay Addiction Services

Empathy House of Recovery – Sunnyside Avenue
360 Sunnyside Avenue Ottawa, ON K1S 0S4
Phone: (613) 730-1350 E-Mail: empathyhouse@bellnet.ca

New Port Centre – Port Colborne General Hospital
260 Sugarloaf Street Port Colborne, ON L3K 2N7
Phone: (905) 378-4647 ext. 32500 Fax: (905) 834-3002
E-Mail: NewPortAdmin@niagarahealth.on.ca
E-Mail: Roberta.tayti@niagarahealth.on.ca
Website: www.niagarahealth.on.ca/services/addiction-recovery

Norfolk General Hospital – Holmes House
394 West Street Simcoe, ON N3Y 1T9
Phone: (519) 428-1911 Toll-Free: 1(888) 999-4966 Fax: (519) 428-7756
Website: http://www.ngh.on.ca/services/detox.html

Iris Addiction Recovery for Women – Iris Treatment Centre
405 Ramsey Road Sudbury, ON P3E 2Z5
Phone: (705) 674-4193 Assessment: (705) 674-5090 Fax: (705) 674-8002
Website: www.irisaddiction.ca E-Mail: iris@personainternet.com

Westover Treatment Centre
P.O. Box 8 2 Victoria Street South Thamesville, ON N0P 2K0
Phone: (519) 692-5110 Toll-Free: 1(800) 721-3232 Fax: (519) 692-3138
E-Mail: Use form on the “contact” page Website: www.westover-fdn.org

Sister Margaret Smith Centre – St. Joseph’s Care Group
301 Lillie Street N Thunder Bay,ON P7C 0A6
Phone: (807) 684-5100 E-Mail: mha@tbh.net

Centre de Reeducation Cor Jesus de Timmins Incorporee
Jubilee Centre Addiction Services
140 Jubilee Avenue W Timmins, ON P4N 4M9
Phone: (705) 268-2666 E-Mail: louise@jubileecentre.ca

CAMH Residential Service
60 White Squirrel Way Toronto, ON M4G 3Z1
Phone: (416) 535-8501 ext. 6616 Toll-Free: 1(800) 463-2338 ext. 6616

Jean Tweed Treatment Centre – Lakeshore Boulevard
3111 Lakeshore Boulevard W
 Toronto, ON M8V 1K8
Phone: (416) 255-7359 ext. 227
E-Mail: intake@jeantweed.com

The Renascent Fellowship – Graham Munro Centre
356 Dundas Street W.
 Toronto, ON M5T 1G5
Phone: (647) 258-5960

Salvation Army Homestead- Toronto
160 Jarvis Road 
Toronto, ON M5B 2E1
 Phone: (416) 921-0953 ext. 33
E-Mail: vmoore@salvationarmyhomestead.org

House of Friendship of Kitchener
 Alcontrol
215 King Street S 
Waterloo, ON N2J 1R2
 Phone: (519) 745-4691

Pinewood Centre – Destiny Manor
118 Cochrane Street Whitby, ON L1N 5H8
Phone: (905) 668-1858 Toll-Free: 1(800) 825-6325

Charity House (Windsor) –
Brentwood Recovery Home 
2335 Dougall Avenue 
Windsor, ON N8X 1S9
Phone: (519) 253-2441 ext. 240
 E-Mail: email@brentwoodrecovery.com 

House of Sophrosyne
1771 Chappell Avenue
 Windsor, ON N9C 3E8
Phone: (519) 252-2711
 Toll-Free: 1(877) 533-9503

MEETINGS

Brant Erie District AA
PO Box 26010
 Brantford ON N3R 7X4
Phone: (519) 752-5981
E-Mail: Use form on “contact” page
 Website: www.branterieaa.org

ONLINE MEETINGS

1. AAOnline.net
2. Lamplighters Group of Alcoholics Anonymous
3. Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous
4. LifeRing

OTHER ALCOHOL AND DRUG RELATED SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA)
Phone: (562) 595-7831 (US) 
E-Mail: Use form on “Contact WSO” Page
Website: www.adultchildren.org
Note: A Twelve Step program of women and men who grew up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes. Participants meet with in a mutually respectful, safe environment and acknowledge common experiences. For meetings in Canada please use the meetings page.

Christians in Recovery
E-Mail: Use form on “Contact us” page
Website: www.christians-in-recovery.org

Co-Dependents Recovery Society
PO Box 306, Stn. Main
Surrey, BC V3T 5B6
Phone: (604) 239-1042
Toll-Free: 1(888) 675-8325
E-Mail: Use form on “contact us” page
Website: www.cdrs.ca

LifeRing
Phone: (250) 920-2095
Toll-Free: 1(888) 920-2095
Fax: (250) 590-1301
E-Mail: Use form on “contact us” page
Website: www.liferingcanada.org

SMART Recovery
Phone: (440) 951-5357
Toll-Free: 1(866) 951-5357 Fax: (440) 951-5358
E-Mail: contact us
Website: www.smartrecovery.org

SOS – Secular Organizations for Sobriety
Phone: (323) 666-4295 (US)
Fax: (323) 526-1257 (US)
E-mail: sos@cfiwest.org
Website: www.sossobriety.org


Women (or Men) for Sobriety
Phone: (215) 536-8026 (U.S.)
Fax: (215) 538-9026 (U. S.)
E-mail: newlife@nni.com
Website: www.womenforsobriety.org