London will get $1.2 million to build a long-awaited crisis centre for those with mental illness and addictions, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said Tuesday.

His announcement comes 19 months after London officials sought funds so those with mental illness or addictions wouldn’t have to fend for themselves or brave crowded emergency rooms.

That need was most pressing during a full-blown catastrophe last year in Victoria Hospital, where those who needed psychiatric help were left to sleep on the floor of the emergency department and wait as long as a week to be moved upstairs to an overcrowded psychiatric ward.

“For too long the (emergency rooms) have been the default for people dealing with a mental health crisis,” Hoskins said in the building that will be converted to a crisis centre on Huron Street east of Adelaide Street. “There are few things more important than supporting the most vulnerable among us.”

Once the conversion is done, the new centre will be able to handle 10 patients at a time in a more home-like setting with staff specialized in caring for those with mental illness or addictions.

The centre will help people out of a crisis and get them support in the community to maintain their health over the long haul, said Hoskins, who was joined at the announcement by Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, his predecessor as health minister and the MPP for London North Centre.

Although the conversion won’t be completed for six months or so, officials hope to use the building starting in January as a drop-in centre to assess people and refer them to community care.

Those who oversee regional spending in the London area have already approved the $1.4 million or so needed each year to run the centre.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/JSHERatLFPress

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Chronology

2014

March: Some with mental illness sleep on ER floors, wait up to a week for a bed in packed Victoria Hospital psychiatric ward.

April: London seeks Health Ministry cash to create a 10-patient mental illness/addictions crisis centre.

2015

January: Temporary five-patient centre opens.

April: London alters request, to renovate Huron Street building.

November: Province comes through with $1.2 million in funding.

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Benefits

Those with mental illness and/or addictions will be cared for in a home-like setting by people who specialize in looking after their needs.

Open 24/7 as a drop-in centre, too, so those who need help get it quickly; provides referrals so patients have supports after they leave.

London’s emergency rooms, already among the most crowded in Ontario, become a last resort and not a first one for those suffering from a mental health or addictions crisis.

Take strain off London police, who by some estimates invest 15 per cent of their budget looking after people with mental illnesses.

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What they said

“Our government is committed to improving access to community mental health and addictions services. By building a new community crisis centre in London, we’re connecting people with the right supports and providing high-quality care close to home.”

Dr. Eric Hoskins, minister of health and long-term care

“This centre will further support individuals . . . dealing with mental health and addictions, and connect them with the services they need. It will also help to take pressure off our emergency departments.”

Deb Matthews, London North Centre MPP

“This is a strong investment in the well-being of individuals experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis . . . You will be able to walk (into) the crisis centre 24/7 and find support.”

Beth Mitchell, interim chief executive, CMHA Middlesex