BARRIE, ONT. -- A new facility to battle Barrie's opioid crisis took another step forward at Monday night's general committee meeting.

City councillors approved a $400,000 20-year loan for an addiction recovery centre for women.

"It's exciting news because, obviously, we still have an ongoing opioid crisis here in our city," said city councillor Natalie Harris. "It will be a women's facility first, but the plan, hopefully, is in the future to bring in a men's centre."

Harris said $3 million in donations had been raised, and the centre's services would be paid for by clothing collection bins spread across the city.

The clothing collection bins save taxpayers about $170,000 annually, Harris said, by cutting down on what gets dumped at the landfill.

According to a recent study, the health unit reported that Barrie has among the highest accidental opioid death rate in the province.

Peter Brewitt, director at Cornerstone to Recovery, is ready to help the city's ongoing issue.

"Not only are we looking forward to stepping up to the plate, we're planning on hitting a home run," Brewitt said.

"We're coming to Barrie, and we plan on tackling the addiction issue, and we've got some great support from the council," he added.

Cornerstone to Recovery has been a staple in Newmarket for nearly 20 years. It boasts a 70 per cent success rate with the model it uses at it Kettleby Ranch.

"What we do right now works very well," Brewitt said. "The idea of bringing a residential program for women to Barrie is pretty exciting."

Harris hopes to have the clothing donation bins in place over the next month, with the facility expected to open in August.