Our Mission: Claremont "CARES" Model

The key to Claremont House Special Care Unit is our philosophy of "Claremont CARES". Our goal is to improve the quality of life of our clients in a community care facility while providing health care and managed alcohol treatment.

The outcome of our service is to reduce the use of emergency health and law enforcement services by individuals experiencing homelessness and alcoholism.

The 5 guiding principles that help us achieve our goal are:

• Client centered care
• Accountability
• Reduce Harm
• Evidence based and best practice
• Success through teamwork

The People

Homeless men and women living with alcoholism and with serious health problems who become caught up in a cycle of repeated visits to emergency rooms, hospitals, detoxification centres and jail.

The Problem

Too often persons experiencing homelessness and alcoholism are seen as a source of frequent disruption in the community, feel a loss of self worth and dignity, and have little opportunity to regain control over their lives.

Their health needs are misunderstood by social service agencies and their social service needs are often ignored by heath care providers. Acting independently, neither health, nor social service, nor law enforcement agencies, can address the high rates of health and social service use of this vulnerable population. 

The Plan

In 2003, Hamilton health and social service providers, along with police, shelter staff, and addiction workers took the initiative to solve the problem by forming a Steering Committee.

The result was to recommend the creation of a managed alcohol special care unit that would be considered a priority item in the Hamilton Community Plan Update for 2003-2006.

To leverage the strengths of collaborating partners, a comprehensive model of care that could coordinate health and social service to deliver clinical evidence based care through an inter-professional team was proposed.

In March 2006 the Claremont House Special Care Unit (Canada's third Managed Alcohol Program) opened it's doors