Sault outreach program may be expanding

An outreach program that focuses on Sault Ste. Marie's main drag could be expanding its borders.

The Downtown Ambassador Program started in June, part of a partnership between the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Downtown Association, and the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

David Cartner is one of five CMHA workers who travels the city's downtown, distributing food, harm reduction supplies and connecting those on the street with resources to help them better their situations.

The staff receive frequent calls from the roughly 200 businesses in the area seeking help for a range of reasons.

“We are a contact for them if something is happening outside of their store," Cartner said.

"For instance if they find needles on the ground, drug paraphernalia, or perhaps maybe there might be a person that is in need. They can call us and we will come down.”

Salvatore Marchese, executive director of the Downtown Association, said the program is exactly what the area needs.

“There’s a lot of positive feedback coming in," said Marchese.

"Both from our merchants who know there is somebody they can call when someone’s in distress, and … from the people that are out there on the ground working these shifts, saying they’re connecting people that just didn’t know there were resources for them.”

Annette Katajamaki, executive director of CMHA Sault Ste. Marie, said they are hiring four workers to cover the Downtown Ambassador Program.

“One of the hardest things that folks with a mental illness and or an addiction issue have is reaching out and asking for help," said Katajamaki.

"So this stops them from having to physically go somewhere -- we’re going to physically show up where they are.”

The success of the program in its first two months is turning heads at city hall. An expansion beyond the downtown will be discussed when the next council deliberates the 2023 budget.

It's something that Cartner, and the rest of the partners, support.

"Addiction doesn't just start at Pim Street and go to Gore Street," he said.

Businesses or individuals in the downtown looking for help from the Downtown Ambassador Program can call 705-090-8483.

The program runs from 3-7 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends.