3 Sask. organizations receive $1.4M to provide harm reduction training for front-line workers

Three Saskatchewan organizations have teamed up to create harm reduction resources and training for care providers using new federal funding.

Prairie Harm Reduction, Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health and Saskatchewan Polytechnic together received $1.4 million from the Public Health Agency of Canada for a five-year project to develop training and resrouces, according to a press release issued Wednesday.

Fighting stigma and racism will be an especially important aspect of the training being built, according to Kayla DeMong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon. 

"This curriculum will be a lot of work for the individuals around their assumptions about people that use substances, beliefs around people that use substances," DeMong said.  

"What are those judgments that we carry, and how do those influence the way that we support people?"

The first year of the project will involve planning activities, including holding focus groups, the release said. Once developed, the tools will be free for front-line workers, with the aim of keeping both care providers and clientele safe.

The project will involve training students as well as front-line health-care workers, and the resources will also be free to access online.

"This project will strengthen the capacity of care and service providers to offer respectful and non-judgmental support for people who use substances in Saskatchewan," said Dr. Larry Rosia, Sask Polytech president and CEO, in a press release Wednesday.

DeMong says the five-year project began in April when the three organizations were awarded the funding. In October, teams began to work on planning phases, and now a curriculum development team has been built.  

"Where we are in the process right now is just getting ready to start our focus groups across the country,"  DeMong said.  

"So we will be reaching out to various service providers and various communities to gather information about what they would like to see, what needs they have in those communities. We know that different communities have different needs,"

The first phase of the five-year project also includes establishing an advisory committee, engaging an evaluator and completing an environmental scan. 

Prairie Harm Reduction says the full project rollout will not begin until 2026 or 2027.