A range of services is available to prevent harms from substance use. Some examples include:
- Impaired driving prevention campaigns: Create awareness of the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol and other legal or illegal substances
- Peer support programs: Groups for people who use substances - to improve their quality of life and to address gaps in services
- Needle distribution programs: Distribute clean needles and other harm reduction supplies and educate on their safe disposal
- Outreach and education: Make contact with people who use substances to encourage safer behaviour
- Substitution therapies: Substitute illegal heroin with legal, non-injection methadone or prescription heroin
- Supervised consumption facilities: Prevent overdose deaths and other harms by providing a safer, supervised environment for people using substances
What are the benefits of Harm Reduction?
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Harm reduction has many benefits for people who use substances, their families, and communities. |
Research shows harm reduction activities can:
- Reduce HIV infection and hepatitis
- Reduce overdose deaths and other early deaths among people who use substances
- Reduce injection substance use in public places, and reduce the number of used needles in public
- Reduce the sharing of needles and other substance use equipment
- Educate about safer injecting and reduce injecting frequency
- Educate about safer sex and sexual health and increase condom use
- Reduce crime and increase employment among people who use substances Increase referrals to treatment programs and health and social services
Strategies and Services Committee Terms of Reference
Strategies Newsletter
A regular newsletter by the BC Harm Reduction Strategies and Services (HRSS) Committee
