REACH Niagara aims to attach 2,500 community members to ongoing primary care through expanded street healthcare, shelter-based care, encampment outreach, supportive housing services and interdisciplinary care.
For many people, accessing healthcare begins with something most of us take for granted: having somewhere to go and someone to call when we need care. For some of Niagara’s most vulnerable community members, that connection simply does not exist.
REACH Niagara has received $1.08 million through Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan, in partnership with Niagara Medical Group Family Health Team, to help change that. Through this investment, REACH aims to attach 2,500 community members to ongoing, team-based primary care.
Healthcare Begins by Meeting People Where They Are
Unstable housing, poverty, mental health challenges, substance use, transportation barriers, justice involvement and a lack of identification can make traditional pathways into healthcare difficult to access and navigate.
REACH delivers healthcare across the shelter system, in supportive housing, in encampments, directly on the street and throughout the community. The investment will expand these services while strengthening interdisciplinary primary care and connections to mental health, chronic disease management, and broader health and social supports.
For many people who have been disconnected from healthcare, these relationships can be the first step back into the healthcare system.
“For many in our community, we are the only healthcare option. As homelessness continues to rise across Niagara, we are not only seeing more people, but we are also seeing more complex health needs,” said Carolyn Dyer, Executive Director of REACH Niagara.
“Many of the people we serve face barriers that make accessing traditional healthcare nearly impossible, from unstable housing and poverty to mental health challenges, substance use, transportation barriers, or simply not having identification. This investment through Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan means REACH can extend care and ensure ongoing primary care supports vulnerable community members who need it. We are incredibly grateful to the province for seeing the need that we do and for their support in this work of meeting and caring for people where they are.”
Responding to a Growing Need Across Niagara
The scale of the need has changed dramatically. In 2022, REACH provided care to 288 individuals. By 2025, that number had grown to 10,590, representing a 3,577% increase in demand for services over four years.
Without regular primary care, manageable health concerns can worsen, chronic conditions can go untreated and people may be left with few options other than seeking care through an emergency department. Attachment creates opportunities for earlier intervention, preventive care, chronic disease management and mental health support, while giving people a consistent healthcare team that understands their needs over time.
For REACH, this work is also connected to housing stability. Healthcare is one of many strategies that can support people in becoming housed and staying housed. By addressing the whole person and recognizing how health, housing and social circumstances intersect, REACH can connect people with care and supports that contribute to greater stability.
Complex Care Takes a Team
REACH is grateful to the 22 family physicians who partner with the organization to deliver care across Niagara. This investment will strengthen the allied healthcare support available to physicians caring for patients with complex and interconnected health and social needs.
“Our physician partners are at the heart of the care REACH provides, and we are grateful for the dedication of the 22 physicians who work alongside our interdisciplinary teams across Niagara,” said Kimberley Bender, REACH Niagara Medical Director.
“Thanks to this funding, our physician team will have the additional support needed to provide more comprehensive, coordinated care for our patients. We are grateful to the Province of Ontario for recognizing that this work cannot be done alone.”
For patients, this means care that extends beyond a single appointment. Based on their individual needs, people can receive ongoing primary care while being connected to additional health and social supports.
Better Access Benefits the Entire Healthcare System
Timely, community-based primary care can improve individual health outcomes while reducing avoidable pressure on hospitals and emergency departments.
In 2025, REACH prevented 356 emergency department visits, resulting in an estimated $137,417 in avoided emergency department costs.
The potential impact is even greater when considering the costs that may have resulted if emergency department visits led to hospitalization.
For REACH, prevention can take many forms: providing care in a shelter, addressing a health concern during encampment outreach before it becomes a crisis, or building the trust that helps someone who has been disconnected from healthcare become attached to sustainable primary care.
Primary Care Attachment Is Meant for Everyone
The central goal of this investment is attachment. REACH aims to attach 2,500 Niagara community members to ongoing primary care, with a focus on people who have historically experienced some of the greatest barriers to accessing healthcare.
Primary care attachment is meant for everyone. A person’s circumstances should not determine whether they have access to a healthcare provider and a team they can rely on.
Working in partnership with Niagara Medical Group Family Health Team, REACH’s physician partners and organizations across the community, this expansion will strengthen connections between vulnerable community members and Niagara’s broader system of care.
REACH Niagara is grateful to MPP Sam Oosterhoff, the Province of Ontario and everyone who helped make this investment possible. Their support moves REACH closer to its vision of accessible healthcare for every Niagara resident.
More information about implementation timelines and patient enrollment will be shared as services become available.