Vancouver Island Harm Reduction Capacity Building Project
Harm Reduction has grown by leaps and bounds since the declaration of the overdose crisis, and so too has our need to keep pace with this growing field of knowledge and praxis.
Please join us for this interactive online workshop series, where we will explore the principles and values that underpin Harm Reduction, while also providing a firm foundation in the trade craft of service provision and care for people who use substances. These workshops are ideal for both those new to the world of Harm Reduction, and those who are looking to deepen their skill and knowledge level. The workshops will be facilitated by AVI staff with experience (some lived, some not) in the world of harm reduction, drug use, and service provision.
Workshops will be held on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month from 12:30 - 2pm via zoom at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89762695210
Workshops will be recorded, so if you can't make the live version, please contact taylor.teal@avi.org to view the recording.
Sessions will include:
Thursday, December 17th 12:30 – 2pm – A Brief History of the War on Drugs
Thursday, January 7th 12:30 – 2pm –Harm Reduction Philosophy and Practice
Thursday, January 21st 12:30 – 2pm – Hepatitis C Basics
Thursday, February 4th 12:30 – 2pm – HIV Basics + PEP, PrEP, U=U
Thursday, February 18th 12:30 – 2pm – Vein Care for Safer and More Pleasurable Injection
Thursday, March 4th 12:30 – 2pm - Safer Smoking
Thursday, March 18th 12:30 – 2pm – Overdose Prevention + Response
Bursaries are available to community-based and peer organizations, to assist with the lost wage costs of sending staff to these events. Please indicate during registration if you need this support.
Topics to be covered include:
A Brief History of the War on Drugs + Harm Reduction Philosophy and Practice (offered in two parts)
- History and origins of prohibition and the harm reduction movement
- Principles and values that inform harm reduction practice
- Reflection on personal experiences and values and how they relate to harm reduction
- Strategies to put harm reduction principles and values into practice
Hepatitis C Basics
- How hepatitis C is transmitted
- Hepatitis C testing procedures
- Treatment and support for folks living with hepatitis C
- Strategies to reduce harms related to hepatitis C
HIV/AIDS Basics + PEP, PrEP, and U=U
- How HIV is transmitted
- HIV testing procedures
- Effective strategies for preventing HIV transmission, with a focus on PEP, PrEP, and U=U
- Treatment and support for folks living with HIV
Vein Care and Safer and More Pleasurable Injection
- The benefits and risks of different injection sites on the body
- Injection practices that increase safety and pleasure
- Aftercare for injecting
Safer Smoking
- Overview of the supplies and practices to reduce harms of smoking heroin, crack, and crystal meth
Overdose Prevention & Response
- Recognizing factors that can increase or decrease overdose risk
- How to recognize depressant (including opioid) and stimulant overdoses
- How to respond to an overdose using the SAVE ME steps
This event is taking place on the territory of Lekwungen-speaking people, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the ability to live and work on these lands. We also acknowledge the historic and ongoing link between colonization and the war on people who use drugs on the land commonly referred to as “Canada”, and the disproportionate impact of criminalization, the overdose crisis, Hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS on Indigenous peoples as an ongoing impact of colonization.
Accessibility Info for this event:
- This event is free; participants must register in advance
- Sessions will be offered over zoom
- We have capacity for 20-25 people for each workshop
- We have endeavored to create interactive workshops with information presented in a variety of formats, and to include captioning and audio wherever possible
- If you would like copies of the presentations or notes in advance, please let us know. We may not cover everything in the presentations, but we can make the material available to you.
If you have accessibility needs or questions that are not addressed here, please contact Taylor Teal at taylor.teal@avi.org or 250-384-2366 ext. 3112.
Funding for this project is provided by the Community Action Initiative.
