Stimulus Connect

What is Stimulus Connect

Stimulus Connect is not just another webinar, it is an opportunity for Canadian stakeholders in harm reduction and drug policy to come together, learn, and network on specific topics. We strive to provide an online space where authentic connections are made on issues that affect us all. In addition to pulling together key contacts to discuss the topic we also gather related journal articles, resources, media and tools and provide these resources along with the #StimulusConnect recording on our website.

#StimulusConnect topics are curated in consultation with the Stimulus National Implementation and Planning (SNIP) Committee and their Executive Committee. A group of key stakeholders are then brought together to collaboratively plan the content, speakers and methods of each event. As with other Stimulus program activities we work from a framework of Nothing About Us Without Us. Stimulus Connects include English/French simultaneous interpretation.

Drug Checking, Beyond the Test: Stimulus Connect 23

March 22, 2023

Meet the people behind the Drug Resource and Education Project: A Holistic Approach to Drug Checking (DRED project) and some of their collaborators. Our mission is to provide tools and education on substance use for people who are impacted by dreadful drug policy and the service providers that support them. More specifically, we want to provide practical guidance on the constantly evolving best practices for performing drug checking in regards to harm reduction, service implementation and messaging in a variety of settings (e.g., festival or community settings).

We will present the DRED project and the different tools we have developed. We have invited some partners and collaborators of the project for a panel discussion on the opportunities and ways you can use our materials.

Resources:

  1. Website: Drug Resource and Education Project: A Holistic Approach to Drug Checking (DRED project)
    1. DRED Materials
  2. Website: Community of Substance
    1. Monthly Reports
  3. Onsite drug checking technology purchase and partnership considerations
  4. Words Matter! Language Statement & Reference Guide
  5. What is Toronto’s drug checking service?

Safer Bathrooms: Stimulus Connect 22

People use drugs in bathrooms for a range of reasons. Responding to an overdose in a bathroom is tricky and there are ways of making bathrooms safer. Join us as we learn and discuss the Safer Bathroom Toolkit, which aims to make life saving changes to washrooms in the midst of the toxic drug supply crisis.

Resources:

  1. Toolkit: Safer Bathroom Toolkit
  2. Website: Each+Every: Businesses for Harm Reduction
  3. Resource: National Overdose Response Service 
  4. Article: Saving Lives One Bathroom at a Time: A new toolkit aims to helps businesses and organizations make bathrooms safer and equip staff to deal with drug poisonings. November 22, 2022
  5. Read: Drug overdoses in public bathrooms are common: new tools could prevent harm and improve response October 11, 2022
  6. Read: Drug overdoses in public bathrooms are common: here’s how we could prevent harm, October 2022
  7. Read: Episodic Overdose Prevention Services (e-OPS) 
  8. Read: Standard Operating Procedure: Episodic Overdose Prevention Services (e-OPS)
  9. Read: COVID-19: Provincial Episodic Overdose Prevention  Service (e-OPS) Protocol
  10. Poster: Episodic Overdose Prevention Service 
  11. Watch: Hey Pal,..You Ok? Safer Washrooms & Episodic OPS, September 8, 2021
  12. Read: Blue lights meant to deter drug use removed at St. Paul’s Hospital after concerns about possible harm, stigma, September 10, 2020
  13. Bathroom Monitoring Tools:
    1. Brave Sensors: Overdose Detection for Public Bathrooms
    2. Live Saver Alert 
  14. Position Statement: Blue lights in public washrooms, October 29, 2019
  15. Read: More overdoses are happening in public washrooms and Vancouver wants businesses to know they can help, August 24, 2019
  16. Journal Article: Public restrooms and the opioid epidemic, August 1, 2019
  17. Read: How Technology Is Rapidly Advancing Overdose-Resistant Bathrooms, May 14, 2019
  18. Read: Safer Consumption Spaces: Winnipeg Consultation & Needs Assessment, 2019
  19. Read: The Consequences of Blue Lights in Public Washrooms, March 19, 2019
  20. Report: Safer Washroom Evaluation: Healthy Sexuality & Harm Reduction, WRHA, February 2019
  21. Read: Operational Procedure: Safe Use of Health Facility Washroom by Clients, December 2018
  22. Read: Opioid Overdoses in Public Bathrooms: Service Workers Respond  September 21, 2018
  23. Journal Article: Drug use in business bathrooms: An exploratory study of manager encounters in New York City, January 2017
  24. Read: Washroom Design and Monitoring, September 2016
  25. Watch: Everywhere But Safe: Public Injecting in New York, 2015
  26. Listen: Bathroom Etiquette: Injecting at the Exchange Part 1 and Part 2

Watch: Stimulus Connect 15: Spotting, October 20, 2021

Harm Reduction in Québec: Stimulus Connect 21 

November 29, 2022

The portrait of harm reduction in Quebec stands out from the rest of Canada, from the language barrier, to the culture, and the unique relationship the province has with the federal government. Join us on November 29 to learn about different perspectives from harm reductionists who work in the field in Quebec. 

This session is specifically designed for people living in Quebec, francophones, and communities in the rest of Canada who want to learn more about the realities of harm reduction and decrim in Quebec. 

Resources:

French Resources:

    1. Soutien clinique et organisationnel en dépendance et itinérance  (Clinical and organizational support in addiction and homelessness
    2. Outils cliniques et formations (Clinical tools and training)
    3. Approviseionnement plus: Sécuritaire de stimulants (More Secure Supply: Safe Supply of Stimulants)

Previous Stimulus Connects and Webinars

Woman during a sunset. Image overlain with graphic banner reading "stimulus connect"

Stimulus Connect 20: Reporting Done Right

Woman during a sunset. Image overlain with graphic banner reading "stimulus connect"

Stimulus Connect 19: Prisons

Woman during a sunset. Image overlain with graphic banner reading "stimulus connect"

Stimulus Connect 18: Connecting with Connect

Woman during a sunset. Image overlain with graphic banner reading "stimulus connect"

Stimulus Connect 17: Emergency

March 3, 2022 Harm Reduction groups have never had to deal…
Speakers for Stimulus Connect 16

Stimulus Connect 16: Thresholds and Necessity Trafficking

Decriminalization Done Right: A Rights-Based Path for Drug Policy…

Stimulus Connect 15: Spotting

Join us for the launch of an educational animation about spotting—an overdose prevention method done by phone or video call.