History

Hope Place Centres was formed on May 4, 2004, as a result of the amalgamation of Hope Place Women’s Treatment Centre and Halton Recovery House. The organization is now comprised of three facilities located in the region of Halton. In collaboration with community partners, Hope Place Centres provides gender-specific addictions treatment and recovery services to men and women, that empower them to make responsible, well-informed choices, resulting in positive lifestyle changes, improved functioning and better health.

Halton Recovery House, was established in 1975 in response to a 1974 needs analysis by the Addiction Research Foundation, which revealed a lack of rehabilitation services for men with problems related to alcohol and other drug use. The first Halton Recovery House was a 130-year-old rented farmhouse near Milton that offered an alcohol-free environment as well as accommodation and support aimed at helping residents find employment and return to the community.  In 1984, with assistance from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Halton Recovery House purchased a 16-bed facility in Hornby and incorporated a more structured addiction program into the services provided.  Five more beds were added, and today, twenty-one men can receive comprehensive addictions treatment for a period of 28–90 days. Since 2004, seven of the twenty-one beds were made available for fee-for-service clients. Halton Recovery House was initially funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, but is now funded by the Mississauga Halton LHIN, the United Way of Oakville, the United Way of Milton and the United Way of Halton Hills.

Hope Place Women’s Treatment Centre began as a dream of a few residents of the Town of Milton in 1986. It became a reality when the doors were opened in March 1990 to women seeking recovery from problems related to alcohol and other drug use. The ten-bed facility has been operating at capacity for the last 19 years. Thousands of women have benefited from its peaceful, rural setting and the Centre’s intensive addictions treatment programming. In December 2009, expansion of the Centre was completed, providing a new kitchen, dining room and office space. There are also five more beds – two are designated for women who are pregnant or parenting children 0-6 years of age, and three are available for fee-for-service clients. Funded initially by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Hope Place Women’s Treatment Centre is now funded by the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).

Hope Place Outpatient Centre in Oakville was established in 2000 when the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care funded a five-year pilot project to provide specialized treatment for women with addictions who are pregnant or parenting children 0-6 years of age. Baby’s Best Beginnings, (an Early Childhood Development Addictions Initiative) was extended by one year until March 31, 2007 and then received annualized funding from the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).  Beyond the Basics Parenting Group is offered three times a year to parents who have children 0-6 years of age, are involved with Child Welfare and who have substance use problems.

Three other programs, funded by the United Way of Oakville, are offered at Hope Place Outpatient Centre:

• Living Sober, established in 1997 as a bi-monthly educational group for women in recovery who are seeking a richer spiritual experience.
   

• Choices for Change, established in 2000 for women seeking individual counselling.
   

• The Family Program, expanded in 2008 to offer not only programming for family members whose loved ones are in residential treatment, but also individual counselling and free, monthly information sessions for anyone who is concerned about another person’s drug and/or alcohol use.

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