What’s Our Goal?

Our goal is to eliminate the stigma associated with substance use, enhance accessibility to support and resources, and advocate for policies that prioritize a person’s well-being. We are committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in all our services, collaborative efforts, and activities. By working together and implementing these principles, we can create a brighter future for our community and individuals who use substances can do so without fear of harm or stigma.

Despite the challenges of toxic drugs spreading across Canada, we remain dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive community for all individuals. We believe in the importance of promoting harm reduction practices to reduce the harm caused by the ongoing crisis. That’s why we took action in 2020 and established our Harm Reduction Team (HaRT) to provide a wide range of harm reduction services, including drug checking, in the Okanagan.

Why Is the Toxic Drug Crisis a Serious Issue?

The majority of drug policies in Canada are based on neoliberal, racist beliefs (not public health). As a result, illegal drugs are made in unregulated ways. So, people who use drugs cannot be sure of what they are buying. It is also difficult to find quality information about how to use drugs. So, when someone wants to use a drug, they may not know how to use it in a way lower-risk way. Because of this history of harmful drug laws, there have been inequitable impacts for historically marginalized groups.

We compare the toxic drug crisis to alcohol. Imagine if you could not find information on how to consume alcohol, what healthy limits are, or how it is made. Also imagine that using alcohol is so stigmatized, you feel the need to use in private. And, image that alcohol is made by lots of different people in unregulated ways. This means that when you want a beer, you drink it alone, and sometimes there might be something you did not expect in it, like cough syrup. Since you are alone, if you have a bad reaction, nobody can help.

We believe that everyone has the right to use substances in lower-risk ways. That is why we provide drug-checking services, naloxone training, and other resources. We support people who use drugs.