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IN THIS ISSUE:

  • Past and Upcoming Events

  • June Meeting Themes

  • Featured Resources

  • Research Paper of the Month

  • Research

  • In the News

  • Community Updates and Events

  • Ways to Get Involved

PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS

PAST IN-PERSON EVENTS:

We are thrilled to say that our first ever regional meeting in Toronto - 
"Scaling Up Safer Supply in Ontario" - was a huge success! This one-day knowledge exchange featured panel discussions, presentations, facilitated group discussions, and networking sessions, all centred on expanding and strengthening safer supply programs across the province.



We couldn't have done it without the hard work of our community safety and support team, as well as our incredible regional meeting planning committee members. For a full list of our appreciations and gratitude,
click here.

You can now find key resources, session information and recordings, photos, and more on our website.



PAST WEBINAR EVENTS:

On Thursday, June 30th, we hosted a presentation about the science behind Urine Drug Screenings (UDS) followed by a panel discussion on the implications of UDS on the lives of people who use drugs, particularly for parents and guardians who use drugs. The panel discussion covered some of the following questions: How do UDS impact and harm people who use drugs, particularly for parents and guardians who use drugs? How has the use of UDS impacted you and your family? How are the results of UDS used for surveillance, and how do the results impact your life? How do your UDS results impact your eligibility for OAT and/or safer supply programs? In what ways does the use of UDS impact your relationship of trust and confidence with your safer supply or OAT prescriber? Our moderator and speakers included: Phoenix Beck McGreevy (moderator), Claire Snelgrove (presenter and speaker), Ashley Smoke (speaker), Nat Kaminski (speaker), Keri Guelke (speaker), and Hawkfeather Peterson (speaker). The webinar recording will be circulated in the coming weeks.



UPCOMING JULY EVENTS:

Weekly Drop-In Meetings:

Members are welcome to join our weekly meeting drop-in meetings. It is an interdisciplinary group with prescribers, pharmacists, harm reduction workers, policy folks, nurses, people who use drugs, etc. Right now, we are meeting on Thursdays at 12pm EDT. Zoom Link

Upcoming Webinar Events:

Join us on Thursday, July 28th at 12pm EDT - World Hepatitis Day - for a webinar co-hosted in partnership with CATIE, Canada's source for HIV and Hepatitis C Information. The webinar - "Integrating Hepatitis C Care with Safer Supply Practice" - will share information on how safer supply providers can integrate hepatitis C care into their practice. This will include an overview of hepatitis C testing, treatment and prevention, examples of how other safer supply programs are providing hepatitis C care, and linkage to hepatitis C trainings and resources. Hepatitis C testing and treatment is highly effective, and easier than ever for both clients and providers. Safer supply providers have close, trusted relationships with clients and are well-suited to deliver low-barrier hepatitis C care. This can support a wholistic approach for the health of people who use drugs, and support the goal of eliminating hepatitis C in Canada. A moderated Q & A session will follow the discussion. Audience members are welcome to submit their questions in the Q & A box. This is a public event. English closed captioning will be provided. Register here.

JUNE MEETING THEMES

Meeting Minutes:

Meeting minutes can be found in the meeting notes and resources folder on the National Safer Supply Community of Practice
Google Drive.

FEATURED RESOURCES
  • NSS-CoP Resource Library: Did you know we have a resource library with OVER 700 resources on safer supply? You can access it for FREE anytime. It features academic journal articles, grey literature, knowledge translation materials, clinical practice guidelines, and more!
     
  • National Safer Supply Environmental Scan - Canada: The British Columbia Centre on Substance Use recently released a summary report of their national safer supply environmental scan. The aims of this environmental scan were to: 1) Map out the safer supply programs across Canada before & early in the pandemic; 2) Describe their service delivery models & clients; and 3) Identify barriers & enablers of implementation from the point of view of service providers.
     
  • Opioid- and Stimulant-related Harms in Canada - June 2022: The Government of Canada recently updated the national statistics for opioid and stimulant-related harms - now ranging from January 2016 to December 2021. Some key findings in the recent updates: 1) There was a total of 29,052 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and December 2021; 2) A total of 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths occurred in 2021 (January – December). This is approximately 21 deaths per day. In the years prior to the pandemic, there were between 8 (in 2016) and 12 (in 2018) deaths per day; and 3) In 2021 (January – December), 88% of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths occurred in British Columbia, Alberta, or Ontario & Elevated rates have also been observed in other areas, including Yukon and Saskatchewan.
     
  • Where To?: This new online directory is for people looking for HIV, hepatitis C, sexual health or harm reduction services in Canada, with additional resources to support their journey to health and wellness. The website allows you to search for services by location or by type of service. CATIE operates and maintains this website. Service providers can also register their own organization. An administrator will review your listing before it gets published.
     
  • L'Équipe de soutien clinique et organisationnel en dépendance et itinérance (ESCODI) - Guidance Documents: L'ESCODI, based in Montréal, Québec recently published two helpful clinical guidance documents in English. The first - Safer Supply of Hydromorphone (Dilaudid®) in Combination with Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) - is a fact sheet that provides information about prescribing hydromorphone in a safer supply context in combination with OAT. The second is a FAQ-style document for pharmacists on safer supply provision.
     
  • Crackdown Podcast - Episode 33: You Will Not Destroy Me: A new episode of Crackdown Podcast is available. Here's a brief description of the episode: "A spectre is haunting BC’s overdose crisis — the ghost of Riverview Hospital. Riverview was one of the province’s main psychiatric hospitals for a century. The giant complex – sitting on 1,000 acres of kʷikʷəƛ̓əm territory just outside of Vancouver – was largely closed in 2012. Today it’s a popular horror film shoot location. Garth recently learned that his great grandmother, Rosa Mullins, spent more than 26 years locked in Riverview. Garth and his father Gary head to Riverview to find Rosa. Garth digs deep into her medical records and doctors notes and Crackdown even manages to get inside of the old hospital itself. The hospital is closed, but it’s not abandoned. The province plans to reopen Riverview as a site for mental health and addictions treatment. Police, politicians and pundits have never stopped dreaming of our banishment. And in recent decades, involuntary detention under the Mental Health Act has soared. We demand an end to involuntary treatment and access to justice for involuntarily detained patients."
RESEARCH PAPER OF THE MONTH

Glegg, S., et al. (2022). “COVID just kind of opened a can of whoop-ass”: The rapid growth of safer supply prescribing during the pandemic documented through an environmental scan of addiction and harm reduction services in Canada | International Journal of Drug Policy 

Highlights:

  • Safer supply has emerged as an option to combat the opioid overdose crisis.
  • Safer supply sites increased in number by 285% between March and May 2020.
  • Diverse delivery models demonstrated adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Findings suggest capacity for rapid scale-up of flexible safer supply prescribing.
RESEARCH

We encourage NSS-CoP members to email info@nss-aps.ca with submissions to include in our newsletter. Content examples include but are not limited to community-led projects, peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, government publications, etc.

IN THE NEWS
National and General News: British Columbia: Alberta: Saskatchewan: Manitoba: Ontario: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut: Québec (et en français s'il vous plaît!): Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland):
COMMUNITY UPDATES & EVENTS
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Share your skills:

We’d like to create opportunities for skills sharing. Let us know if you would like to offer a workshop or present to the membership.

Share your successes:

Share your success stories, your reports, and safer supply resources that you develop with the NSS-CoP membership through:

How can we help? Let us know what you need! Our goal is to support you by assisting in areas around your programs, organizations, and communities!

Have a question that you’d like to ask? Email us: info@nss-aps.ca or send a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
CONTACT US

https://www.nss-aps.ca/
info@nss-aps.ca
(519) 660-0875 ext. 1264

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