Workers from the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care are speaking out about the violence they say they face inside the facility.
Workers held a rally on Tuesday outside of the centre in Penetanguishene. The unionized workers held signs reading "our lives matter" and "we told you this would happen."
They called it a solidarity rally and said they want tougher security measures inside the facility to protect everyone.
"We want to have better safety procedures in place. We want to have metal detectors, we want to have our policies and procedures followed,” says Pete Sheehan of OPSEU local 329.
“Yes, we are a hospital. Yes, we want to provide care for the patients we have here, but we also want to go home safely and that's not happening.
Their rally comes one day after news that a patient is facing criminal charges for an attack on three staff members.
OPSEU also says it is concerned about the conditions Ontario's corrections staff are dealing with.
Waypoint president and CEO Carol Lambie released a statement on Tuesday, saying that Waypoint respects the staff's work on workplace safety.
"We are committed to working together to make improvements that support the health and safety needs of everyone. “
“Everyone is committed to doing our utmost to prevent unfortunate incidents such as happened last week."
The statement also noted that Waypoint leaders are now involved in a provincial workplace violence prevention group and it says it is working to address various visits and orders from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour.
