Ontario invests $500K in Huntsville addiction treatment centre

The Ontario government announced it's investing an additional $517,700 in the De Novo Treatment Centre, which provides treatment to individuals in the construction and trades industry.

De Novo Treatment Centre in Huntsville offers a 35-day treatment program for those battling addiction.

The government has invested roughly $1.5 million over the last three years to support ongoing research into substance abuse treatment.

"This is our third round of investment through the skills development fund in partnership with the building trade unions," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

"For me, the De Novo Treatment Centre is personal. I heard from a unionized construction worker back home. He told me De Novo saved his family and untimely saved his life," he said.

The centre's executive director Marie Lloyd said crucial research could continue with this latest investment.

She adds that the latest data found construction workers and servers are the top two industries where workers battle addiction.

"Part of it is, they're working away, long hours and for the construction industry, they're often away from home - they'll live in Sudbury, but their job will be in Hamilton. So, they live and work with the same people, so they party with the same people. It's an ever-changing field. What worked yesterday would work, but maybe we found out something new that we can use to at makes it work better," said Lloyd.

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Officials said in 2022, more than 2,500 people died from opioid-related causes, and of those employed, one in three worked in construction.

"We know that there are so many people suffering from addiction issues, and it's important to stand with those everyday heroes in the construction industry who are building projects that are families rely on to have the support of the government in times of need," said McNaughton.

Over the years, De Novo has seen roughly 7,000 people go through its centre.