The post A quiet experiment in compassion: How the ByWard Market’s block leaders are redefining street outreach first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post A quiet experiment in compassion: How the ByWard Market’s block leaders are redefining street outreach appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Drop in drug overdoses in Ottawa: no one really knows why first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Drop in drug overdoses in Ottawa: no one really knows why appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Secure supply of medicines: no funding planned following federal support first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Secure supply of medicines: no funding planned following federal support appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post The opioid crisis and the ‘hidden’ epidemic of brain damage first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post The opioid crisis and the ‘hidden’ epidemic of brain damage appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Small shards of glass bearing witness to the changing landscape of drug use in Ottawa first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Small shards of glass bearing witness to the changing landscape of drug use in Ottawa appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Wendy Muckle, co-founder of Ottawa Inner City Health, appointed to the Order of Canada first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Wendy Muckle, co-founder of Ottawa Inner City Health, appointed to the Order of Canada appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The Life Process Program is a groundbreaking, non-disease-based model designed to address substance use and substance use disorder. Originally offered directly to individuals seeking support, LPP has now evolved to include a Coach Training Program. This initiative empowers peers to become recovery coaches, equipping them to support individuals in their own communities. By fostering local, peer-led solutions, we’re creating new pathways to reach marginalized populations in ways that truly meet them where they are.

Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Zach Rhoads and Daithi Conlon from LPP to Ottawa. During their visit, Case Manager Tabitha Morris led them on a tour of the city, showcasing the diverse programs and services Ottawa offers to support harm reduction and recovery. The visit culminated in a proud moment as Zach presented Certificates of Completion to our first cohort of trainees in the Coach Training Program.

“We are honored to collaborate with Ottawa Inner City Health,” shared Zach Rhoads, LPP Coach. “Their dedication and innovative harm reduction services are truly inspiring. Partnering with peers who empower their communities allows us to add future-focused, solution-driven support to enhance substance use health. It’s exciting to see the impact unfolding.”

Now that the training is complete, our newly certified peer coaches are diving into their roles. They have begun enrolling clients into the program and are facilitating both one-on-one sessions and group meetings informed by LPP principles.

This marks the start of an exciting new chapter—one where peer-led recovery becomes a transformative force in our community. Congratulations again to our graduates; your work is paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future!

The post Harm Reduction Training – Celebrating Our Graduates! first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Harm Reduction Training – Celebrating Our Graduates! appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post OICH’s response to changes in SIS legislation first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post OICH’s response to changes in SIS legislation appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

In Ottawa, the people who use drugs who were engaged in the efforts to protect the health of their community and to advocate for the services they and their community desperately needed to survive the toxic drug crisis are mostly dead now. Those that are not, are overwhelmed with survivor’s guilt, demoralized that not only were their efforts not enough to save their friends but that the services they advocated for are being blamed for causing the problems they set out mitigate.

In the public discourse about community safety, the voice of people who use drugs has been absent. This is striking given that people who use drugs a) are part of the community and b) are far more likely to be victimized than any other stakeholder in the conversation and c) necessary for any sustainable solution to public safety issues.

We worked with people who use drugs to develop and implement a survey around the safety needs of people who use drugs. 

https://lnkd.in/eS3qgiDj

Next we held focus groups to ask them what specific things in their current environment are causing them to feel unsafe and how we can address them together.

When we talked to people who use drug about the impact of the toxic drug supply, they told us about the dope sickness, they told us about desperation, the fear and the “every person for themselves” attitude that was created. They did not like what had become of their community. They grieved the way things used to be before the drug supply became so toxic, before the pandemic. And they grieved the leaders they loved and respected who have been lost over the past 7 years.

So we asked them what they wanted to do about it.

What they told us was that they wanted to restore the positive aspects of street culture. That they wanted to be part of the solution to the concerns of neighbours and businesses. They told us that they wanted us to help them to address the things that were impacting their sense of safety.

The Ontario Government’s decision to close supervise consumption sites in Ontario was rationalized by concerns about vulnerable children being exposed to drug use and discarded syringes. People who use drugs, many of whom grew up as vulnerable children who the system failed to protect, couldn’t agree more! In fact, the first thing, they wanted to address was addressing drug use in front of kids, and within a week or two they restored the community norm of people shouting “kids up” whenever they saw a family with kids on the block and everyone putting their drugs away until after the family passed by and the kids were out of sight.

There are policy alternatives to prohibitionist closures of consumption sites that would restore balance to communities and make safer downtowns for all.

The post Community Safety – For People Who Use Drugs first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Community Safety – For People Who Use Drugs appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Rob Boyd, Executive Director of Ottawa Inner City Health, appeared on CFRA’s Ottawa Now programme with Kristy Cameron on 1 October 2024. first appeared on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..

The post Rob Boyd, Executive Director of Ottawa Inner City Health, appeared on CFRA’s Ottawa Now programme with Kristy Cameron on 1 October 2024. appeared first on Ottawa Inner City Health Inc..