The Upper Ottawa Valley Chamber of Commerce is joining the initiative with the Ontario Chamber on a call to action needed to address drug use and overdose crisis. The chamber has released a document titled ‘Beyond Emergency Declarations’. Kelly Hollihan, our local executive director tells myFM news that rural Ontario communities are facing the brunt of the problem.
Hollihan says the brief calls upon the decision-makers to think outside the box of any one particular addictions management approach and urges the collection of better data to drive evidence-based solutions.
Driven by stigma within healthcare settings, obstacles to treatment, declining mental health, and the escalating toxicity of the drug supply, the crisis disproportionately affects northern, remote, and rural communities, which grapple with limited access to support services and much higher overdose rates. Strategies across Canada vary, from harm reduction efforts in B.C. to recovery-focused models in Alberta to Ontario’s focus on creating a continuum of care. Comparing these strategies – and their outcomes – will be essential, the OCC brief finds.
(Written by: Kyle Robinson)