"When we all get together and collaborate, really magical things happen," says Lenae Silva, a peer and co-founder of the Open Heart Collaborative.
Silva is referring to a Nov.
23-24 event in Nanaimo, BC, where more than 30 peopleincluding members of the community, students, researchers, and Island Health employeescame together to brainstorm and come up with solutions to the province's toxic drug crisis.
"We've got an opportunity to look at things through a bit of a different lens," says Island Health's manager of strategic initiatives for the toxic drug crisis, per the Canadian Press.
"I'm pretty shy about group work so I was nervous about this," says Heather McDonald of Nightkeepers, an after-hours peer outreach service in Nanaimo.
But "I've seen some of the peers out and about, doing their own outreach again," she says.
Participants came up with ideas including: "Bridge of Influence" to work with peer consulting firms to provide a safe and accessible drug supply; "A Peers United Network of Knowledge (PUNK) to provide a safe and accessible drug supply, and increase access to, and capacity for, resources"; "Mobile Peer Services" to provide hygiene services and resources for people who Read the Entire Article
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
The Neighbourhood Midwives, the brainchild of Annie Francis of Hampshire, offers midwifery services geared for the continuity of care to women and their families.