At the YFS Wellness Centre, we view harm reduction simply as reducing harm - individually, within our communities and to others. For us, harm reduction covers self harm, drug use, unsafe sexual practices, and much more. Approaching from a non-judgement stance is paramount in establishing respect for the individual and their bodily autonomy.
Harm Reduction refers to policies, programs and practices that aim to reduce the negative health, social and economic consequences that may ensue from the use of legal and illegal psychoactive drugs, without necessarily reducing drug use. Its cornerstones are public health, human rights and social justice. It benefits people who use drugs, families and communities. It ensures that people who use psychoactive substances are treated with respect and without stigma, and that substance-related problems and issues are addressed systemically.
Harm Reduction is underpinned with the knowledge that many drug-related problems are not the result of the drugs themselves; rather they are the consequences of the unregulated manufacture and trade of drugs and the enduring commitment to failed policies and ill-thought-out and inequitably applied laws.
From www.canadianharmreduction.com
YFS Wellness Centre Harm Reduction & Naloxone Training
Harm reduction is the key to addressing the opioid crisis in Canada and creating communities of care beyond your time at York..
The training consists of a culture check on the opioid crisis in Canada, information on drugs and drug use in Toronto, how to intervene in an overdose, and much more. Leave the training a Certificate of Completion and your own nasal Naloxone Kit to take home, for FREE!
If you wish to set up a private training for your or your group, please do so by contacting the Director, Wellness Centre at wellness@yfs.ca
Participants must register ahead of time in order to receive a kit to take home.
New Sessions will be shared as they come.
Supervised Consumption Services in Toronto
Supervised Consumption Services (SCSs) are clinical spaces for people to bring their own drugs to use in the presence of trained health professionals. Canadian and international evidence shows that SCSs save lives, connect people to social services and are pathways to treatment.
SCSs are designed to improve the health status of people who use drugs by having trained health professionals available immediately should a person overdose. They are also a place for people who use drugs to connect with other health and social services, including mental health services. They have been shown to prevent overdose deaths and reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Locations and hours of sites can be found at the link below.