A first-of-its-kind pilot project in the Old Brewery Mission of Montreal, Canada, is currently working to cure its homeless clients of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), CBC news reports.

The program, known as Pause Santé (“Health Break” in French), says it hopes to help its clients manage their addiction issues and attain a better life through tackling the disease. It is run jointly by medical staff from the Université de Montreal and counselors from city mission.

In the pilot, clients are provided with a place to live and transportation to and from their medical appointments throughout the course of their treatment regimen, which can take anywhere between 12 weeks and 12 months, depending on the patient. Since the program started up last year, the mission has taken in 27 residents for hep C treatment and, so far, 20 have been cured of the life-threatening liver infection.

As it currently stands, the Old Brewery Mission can take up to 14 patients at a time to enroll in treatment with the latest generation of hep C drugs. However, project leaders say they are hoping to offer the pilot to more clients through government funding.

To read the full CBC report, click here.