Harm Reduction & Substance Use Services

BCCDC Harm Reduction & Substance Use Services works to address harms associated with illicit drug supply including drug poisoning (overdose) and communicable disease (HIV/Hep C).
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Our team is part of the Population and Public Health service line. 

Our work includes:
  • Distribution of harm reduction supplies and overdose response supplies - including life-saving naloxone, development of education, clinical practices and policies to support harm reduction strategies and services 
  • Surveillance, monitoring and enhanced analytics to inform strategies and services in response to the illicit drug toxicity emergency and harm reduction programs, including the Provincial Overdose Cohort​

We recommend checking this page regularly. If you can't find what you are looking for, or if you have questions about any of our resources, please email harmreduction@bccdc.ca.

About Harm Reduction


Harm Reduction minimizes harms related to substance use and sexual activity. Harm reduction services help prevent HIV, hepatitis C, illness, infection and overdose. 

Harm reduction is essential in preventing undue health and social harms both for people who use substances as well as BC communities.

Harm Reduction: 

  • is evidence-informed
  • involves a range of services and strategies
  • empowers and supports people to be safer and healthier
  • reduces barriers to accessing health care for people who use substances
  • advances the health and human rights of people who use substances
  • benefits individuals, families and communitiesaims to prevent stigma and discrimination against people who use substances
​​Due to the ongoing impact of colonization, Harm Reduction must also address and respect the health needs of Indigenous peoples.​

HealthLink BC Files 

Understanding Harm Reduction: Substance Use

Harm Reduction for Families & Caregivers


Harm reduction has many benefits for people who use substances, their families and communities.​

Harm Reduction Services:

​Research shows harm reduction activities can:

  • Create low-to-no barrier access to health and social services
  • Prevent HIV, hepatitis and other infections
  • 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   



What We Do

​Provincial Supply Programs

​The BCCDC HRSUS team oversees the centralized distribution of harm reduction supplies and overdose response supplies within British Columbia. Learn more about these specialized services. 

Naloxone Programs
​Naloxone is a life-saving medication that temporarily reverses an opioid overdose or opioid drug poisoning. 

Drug poisoning is a medical emergency. It is critical to call 9-1-1 as soon someone is suspected of experiencing a drug poisoning. 

People can use naloxone kits to provide first aid while they wait for help to arrive.

Take Home Naloxone Program
The BCCDC’s Take Home Naloxone (THN) program provides life-saving training and naloxone kits for free to people who are likely to witness and respond to an opioid overdose or drug poisoning, such as people who use substances, family, friends, and community members. Naloxone kits are available from community pharmacies, harm reduction sites, hospitals, First Nations sites, and correctional facilities. 

The program does not provide naloxone kits and training to workplaces, medical offices, for-profit organizations, and/or public institutions. 

Learn more by visiting the Take Home Naloxone​ page on Toward the Heart.

The Province began distributing kits with two doses of nasal naloxone through the THN program as part of a pilot project starting in fall 2024.

Until now, the BCCDC nasal THN pilot has been available to specific priority populations.   

As this pilot continues, we are now expanding eligibility to anyone who is at risk of experiencing or likely to witness and respond to an opioid overdose. 

People with a First Nations Health Benefits card can also access free nasal naloxone from First Nations Health Benefits for their personal use. See First Nations Health Authority's Nasal Naloxone Fact Sheet (PDF) for more information.

The pilot will continue to be evaluated to support planning and policy development for providing nasal naloxone in B.C. 

The standard intramuscular injectable naloxone kits continue to be available through the THN program and are not affected by the nasal pilot project.

Facility Overdose Response Box Program
The Facility Overdose Response Box (FORB) program provides drug poisoning (overdose) response boxes and kits with injectable naloxone at no cost for employees at non-profit and community-based organizations where staff are​ likely to witness and respond to a drug poisoning event in the workplace. 

Learn more by visiting the Facility Overdose Response Box page​ on Towards the Heart.

Training & Resources
Toward the Heart​ provides a variety of overdose prevention, recognition and response materials. The materials educate people on how to use naloxone. This includes teaching materials, instructional videos, posters, guides and infographics. Find all the resources on the Naloxone Training & Resources page.

Contact us by emailing: naloxone@bccdc.ca

Harm Reduction Supply Program
The Provincial Harm Reduction Supply Distribution Program coordinates access to safer sex and safer substance use supplies across BC.

Learn more at TowardtheHeart.com.

To find a site and access supplies near you, use the site finder.
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Peer Engagement

​​Peer workers are people with lived/living experience of substance use. They use that experience to inform their professional work. They are also known as experiential workers.

Engagement of peer workers is recognized nationally and provincially as best practice in harm reduction. Peer workers are at the forefront of harm reduction and overdose response initiatives in BC.​

​Peer Engagement Resources & Reports ​

​​​Toxic Drug & Health Alerts 

Toxic drug and health alerts is a free, real-time text messaging service for anyone to receive toxic drug alerts or share information about toxic drugs in their community. This service is anonymous.

Learn more about Toxic Drug and Health Alerts

​Provincial OD Cohort & Research

The Provincial Overdose Cohort was created to better understand the factors that lead to overdose and overdose death and to help inform programming for people who use drugs in British Columbia.

Provincial Overdose Cohort
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Provincial Best Practice and Guidance Development​

Regulated and unregulated health professionals can access a wide variety of harm reduction and opioid poisoning response resources on the BCCDC's Harm Reduction Clinical Resources​ page. 

​Surveillance & Monitoring

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Unregulated Drug Poisoning Emergency
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Harm Reduction Client Survey
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Since 2012 the BCCDC Harm Reduction Services program has surveyed clients of harm reduction supply distribution sites across BC. BC has an established network of more than 350 harm reduction distribution sites.


Prior to 2012, knowledge about high-risk drug use was based primarily on data from two major cities, Vancouver and Victoria. The Harm Reduction Client Survey was introduced to obtain more comprehensive and province-wide information about drug use, related harms, stigma, and access to harm reduction services.


Data from the survey is used to inform harm reduction planning, confirm emerging issues, and to evaluate and improve quality of harm reduction services.


Findings and knowledge summaries for each year the survey was administered are published on the Harm Reduction Client Survey page.


 
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Committees

BC Drug Overdose & Alert Partnership (DOAP)

 

The BC Drug Overdose and Alert Partnership (DOAP) is a multi-sectoral committee that was established to prevent and reduce the harms associated with substance use. The group identifies and disseminates timely information about harms related to substance use including overdose, adverse reactions to contaminated products, and other emerging issues.

DOAP is chaired by the harm reduction medical lead at the BC Centre for Disease Control. Member agencies include:

  • Provincial Health Service Authority agencies:
    • BC Centre for Disease Control
    • BC Emergency Health Services
    • BC Drug and Poison Information Centre
  • BC Provincial Toxicology Centre
  • BC Centre for Excellence HIV/AIDS
  • BC Coroners Service
  • BC Regional Health Authorities
  • BC Ministry of Health
  • Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research
  • First Nations Health Authority
  • Health Canada Drug Analysis Service
  • Various law enforcement agencies in BC
  • Peer organizations

BC Harm Reduction Strategies & Services (HRSS)

 

The British Columbia Harm Reduction Strategies and Services (HRSS) Committee provides the structure to facilitate coordination between the Ministry of Health, PHSA, the First Nations Health Authority and the five regional health authorities, and other key stakeholders in work related to harm reduction in BC.

​ HRSS Committee Terms of Reference (Sept 2012) (PDF)


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Services & Supports

Stack of Naloxone supplies

Access supplies & supports

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​​Receive toxic drug alerts by text

Find local resources

Find provincial resources

Access supplies

Find an overdose prevention site
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Additional Resources

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​Toward the Heart Website

Toward the Heart is the main source of information for the BCCDC's provincial supply programs. The website features various resources and supports including:​

  • ​Training Tools: Overdose recognition and response training tools, including how to administer naloxone.​

  • Registered sites support: Materials for harm reduction, take-home naloxone and facility overdose response sites registered in one of our programs, as well as how to become a registered site

  • Education & Information Sheets: Harm reduction information sheets, anti-stigma resources, substance information sheets and active drug alerts. 

Visit towardstheheart.com


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Safer Sex & Substance Use
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Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act
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Reports & Publications
​For harm reduction reports, publications, case studies and program resources and evaluations, visit the Harm Reduction Reports ​page.​

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