The roughly 6,000-square-foot space is set to open its doors for the first time on Monday.  When done, it will be the only location of its kind between Oshawa and Bathurst Street.
“This is an amazing facility,” Teabo said during a recent tour of the bright, newly renovated space, which will provide enhanced support for people age 16 and older who identify as female, non-binary, two-spirit and transgender.  mental health and substance use concerns; 
“I’m so glad it opened.  We need more like it.  … I hope this is just the beginning,” he said.
Back in 1999, Teabo began her journey of recovery when she spent 28 days in a now-closed rehab center on Queen Street West.
Clean for more than a decade and now giving back by holding 12-step fellowship meetings for people struggling with substance abuse, the North York resident and mother of two grown daughters spoke life to those who come to MGH’s new 16-bed facility at 989 Danforth Ave. , just west of Donlands Avenue, will be forever changed for the better.
“When you come to a place like this for the first time, you are at your lowest point.  … For me, it was kill yourself or get help,” Teabo shared.
“(The staff there) saved my life.  It was a safe place and that’s what I needed at that moment.  I didn’t know how to access help.”
When the new Danforth facility opens, there will be 37 women’s withdrawal management beds in Toronto, open to women-identifying individuals from across the GTA.  Unity Health also currently operates a 22-bed facility on Dundas Street West.
In the works for about three years, the new east site has a six-bed admission area, 10 longer-term beds, a kitchen, laundry, restrooms, a program room as well as offices and other meeting rooms.  Funded by Ontario Health.
“We want to offer a warm, welcoming space.  … This (facility) has been in the works for years and for the past few months, for us, it’s been a labor of love,” MGH Director of Integrative Mental Health and Substance Use Kathryn Decker, who oversees the new facility, told CP24.  this week.
“We know that recovery is different for everyone, and whatever their goal is, we want to meet them where they are.” 
In addition to receiving culturally safe, trauma-informed, non-crisis treatment for acute intoxication or withdrawal from alcohol and/or other substances, those coming to the new facility will also be connected to key resources such as housing providers, harm reduction services, and case management community as they take steps to move forward with their lives.
“Our role is to help these women have a chance for a better future.  … We help them transition until they can access services and supports in the community,” said Grace Costa of The Neighborhood Group Community Services, which provides case management support to facility clients during their stay and beyond.
“It takes a lot of strength for a woman to come and ask for help.  There are so many risks for women to step up and get help, and so much crisis.  They need support to continue their journey.”
The new space will be open 24/7 to people from across the GTA who are self-referred or referred by a clinician or community member.  The site, which is adjacent to a men’s rehab center also run by Garron, also has the ability to support referrals from hospital emergency departments across the GTA. 
In an Aug. 24 release, MGH said this new facility is especially needed as Toronto grapples with the “rapidly growing opioid crisis,” which they said is putting additional pressure on emergency departments.
According to city of Toronto data, there were nearly 4,000 opioid-related visits to hospital emergency departments in that city last fall.  This is the highest number recorded since 2017.
Last year, more than 500 people died of drug overdoses in Toronto, which is 73 percent more than in 2019 and a 273 percent increase from 2017.