Resources

Are you worried that you may have a substance use disorder or that someone you love might? The first person to talk to would be a family doctor. Please contact a family medicine or addiction doctor in your area. 

The Government of Canada has provided this resource list for people who would like help with substance use: Learn more

For Families and Caregivers

It can be hard when a loved one is struggling with a substance use disorder. Al-Anon and counseling can be excellent interventions to help know how to love well while maintaining boundaries. A resource list is also available through the British Columbia Center on Substance Use (BCCSU). Click here to learn more - BCCSU Resources for Families and Caregivers

For Healthcare Workers

1. If you are a healthcare worker in practice, here are some Canadian clinical practice guidelines that are relevant to substance use disorders: 

What Can I Do (other than reading the book…)?

1. Seek your own health and the health of those around you - therapy, medication, and/or seeing your own doctor are great first steps towards determining your own capacity to get involved in supporting people who use substances. If you are a person of faith, connect with your faith community. 

2. Give money wisely. Choose agencies that work with people who are actively using substances, not ones that mandate abstinence prior to accessing services. Give directly to people who are struggling if your heart wants to and if you feel that it fits within the boundaries you have set. 

3. Engage with people who use substances.  Small acts of connecting with other people may help you break down the barriers that marginalize people who use substances. Learn how to do this safely by connecting with agencies in your area who are already doing this work. Carry a naloxone kit and know how to use it. Focus in your own neighbourhood. 

4. Vote to save the lives of people who struggle with substance use. Encourage your political representatives at all level of government to support measures designed to provide life for people who use substances. Support harm reduction, supervised consumption sites, and addiction medicine initiatives, and let your political representatives know that these things matter to you. 

5. Use language that decreases stigma. Check yourself the next time you are about to use a derogatory term to refer to people who are not housed, or who use substances. Practice respecting all people by being intentional about your language. The words we use impact how we think about people.