Supporting community-based organizations and helping community address critical needs related to the illegal toxic drug and overdose crisis

To help support the response to the illegal toxic drug and overdose crisis, the Government of Canada has announced more than $84.8 million in funding for 65 community-led projects through the Substance Use and Addictions Program and the Emergency Treatment Fund.

February 2025

The Government of Canada is committed to using every tool available to address the illegal toxic drug and overdose crisis that continues to have tragic impacts across the country.

The Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF) and the Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) are part of the government's comprehensive approach to address this public health crisis.

To help support the response to the illegal toxic drug and overdose crisis, the Government of Canada has announced more than $84.8 million in funding for 65 community-led projects through the Substance Use and Addictions Program and the Emergency Treatment Fund.

Under the ETF, recipients will use the funding to address their urgent and immediate needs to bolster local capacity and provide access to culturally appropriate, trauma-informed and evidence-based programs and services. This will be done through training, naloxone distribution, on-the-land healing, building upgrades, and increasing mobile response teams, crisis counsellors, and knowledge keepers or other Indigenous professionals.

Under the SUAP, projects will help improve health outcomes for people who need care by scaling up prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery efforts. Initiatives include connecting individuals to various treatment models of care, like virtual care, delivering harm reduction services, providing recovery and peer supports as well as traditional land-based learning and healing, and building community organization capacity.

The backgrounder below describes the projects receiving funding today through the Emergency Treatment Fund and the Substance Use and Addictions Program.

Emergency Treatment Fund

British Columbia

The City of New Westminster's Crises Response Pilot Project
City of New Westminster – New Westminster, BC
$1,466,230 to address the interconnected crises of substance use, homelessness, and mental health by providing stable shelter, wraparound supports, and expanding harm-reduction outreach teams and services. It will tackle community issues like stigma and discarded drug paraphernalia while fostering collaboration between service providers and supportive housing. The project will be independently evaluated and will offer a scalable model for other municipalities.

Saskatchewan

kâwi-itohte askiy ohci-nanâtawihitowin - Returning to the land for healing
Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre Inc. – North Battleford, SK
$73,600 to enhance cultural awareness and healing for individuals and families in addiction recovery by offering a land-based healing program. Participants from Sweetgrass, Luck Man, Little Pine, and Poundmaker First Nations will have the opportunity to reconnect with the land and reclaim traditional wellness practices during a three-month pilot program.

Manitoba

Islands of Stability
Sunshine House Inc. – Winnipeg, MB
$685,209 to expand access to harm reduction supplies through enhanced outreach and program services. It will also provide cultural supports, including a seasonal cultural camp to improve self-perception and connection to culture for individuals affected by substance use. Additionally, the project will support 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in accessing withdrawal management and treatment, with a full-time systems navigator dedicated to facilitating referrals.

Ontario

The Bridge
City of Belleville – Belleville, ON
$3,498,129 to retrofit a building in Belleville into an integrated care hub, "The Bridge," for individuals at risk of opioid-related drug poisoning and homelessness. The hub will provide improved access to a range of services, foster greater integration among service providers, and enhance safety for clients and staff.

Pathways to Resilience: Marten Falls Comprehensive Healing and Treatment Program
Marten Falls First Nation – Ogoki Post, ON
$1,909,367 to offer immediate intervention through a Mobile Response Unit staffed with trained counselors, providing crisis outreach, counseling, and culturally relevant programming, while also connecting individuals to treatment options. This initiative aims to foster long-term recovery, resilience, and community health, bridging the gap created by the community's isolation and extended wait times for external healthcare services.

Kii Daanaandwengwan (The Earth is Healing Me)
Naandwechige-Gamig Wiikwemkoong Health Centre – WIKWEMIKONG UNCEDED INDIAN RESERVE, ON
$866,099 to hire a land-based healing program coordinator to lead the development and implementation of a healing program focused on connecting community members to culture and the land, helping them overcome substance use. The initiative will include hiring an addictions case manager, purchasing necessary equipment for the program, and creating culturally relevant resources like case management models and naloxone training videos.

Accelerating Community Mobilization to Drug Poisoning Crisis: Detection, Mobile Outreach, and Trauma-Informed Care
Corporation of the County of Lambton – Wyoming, ON
$816,500 to purchase two purpose-built Community Outreach/Clinical Vans to support the expansion of Mobile Outreach services to Indigenous communities and provide funding for the provision of 3 Trauma-Informed Care education sessions with the capacity to train up to 222 direct service providers.

Chatham-Kent (CK)-CORE Project (Community Overdose Response Expansion)
Municipality of Chatham-Kent – Chatham, ON
$574,346 to provide peer-led harm reduction outreach services and harm reduction training including local referral and treatment options, anti-stigma education to organizations and community members, and low-barrier community support spaces for people experiencing houselessness and people who use substances.

Bolstering Harm Reduction Resources in Peel
Regional Municipality of Peel – Mississauga, ON
$695,755 to enhance current outreach efforts of the Peel Works Harm Reduction program by purchasing two vans and enhancing the availability and distribution of harm reduction supplies such as wound care kits, condoms, lighters, and educational materials.

Pathways to Health: Mobile Harm Reduction Outreach for Safer Communities
The Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay – Thunder Bay, ON
$237,960 to address the pressing health and housing needs of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness and the toxic drug crisis in Thunder Bay, ON. The project will provide harm reduction services through mobile outreach, offering naloxone distribution, and support for those in encampments and the Temporary Village Initiative. It will also enhance encampment response efforts by providing resources for sanitation, relationship-building, and connecting individuals to health service and other community supports.

GB Camp Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle for Community Mobilization
Sustainable Indigenous Solutions – Pawitik, ON
$210,995 to address accessibility issues by acquiring a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, enabling clients with mobility challenges to access holistic healing programs for substance use.

Beendigen's Community Healing Project
Beendigen Incorporated – Fort William First Nation, ON
$141,875 to provide outreach through the purchasing of a community mobile unit and "with-in reach" through hiring workers to provide harm reduction services delivered within a wrap-around, trauma-informed and culturally-safe circle of care.

Québec

Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia'takehnhas Community Services
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake – Kahnawake, QC
$232,476 to support a mobile outreach service. This service will provide harm reduction materials, naloxone distribution, health assessments, referrals, and social work support, particularly for individuals experiencing houselessness and substance use issues. By directly engaging with at-risk community members, the initiative aims to prevent overdoses and connect people to essential services, addressing a critical gap in the community's response to the crisis.

Nunavut

Ambulance Supplies and Stretcher
Municipality of Pond Inlet – Pond Inlet, NU
$41,212 to purchase requisite medical supplies to equip the ambulance in the remote Inuit community of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, as well as make training on health hazards of substance use available to residents.

Substance Use and Addictions Program

British Columbia (total of $18,482,671 for 16 projects)

Empowering Peer Navigators as a Pathway to Build Capacity in Communities
The City of Abbotsford – Abbotsford, BC
$802,500 to build on and scale up the SUAP funded PEOPLE Peer Navigator and Capacity Building Project delivered over the past four years in Kelowna, BC. The project will empower and support people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) and the broader social serving sector in Abbotsford to engage in meaningful roles that build skills and confidence by providing paid opportunities for PWLLE to support individuals in accessing a variety of substance use, mental health, housing, and nutrition supports. The capacity of the Indigenous community will be deepened and Indigenous PWLLE will be supporting healing and wellness through cultural teachings.

LIFE Recovery Cultural Supports Initiative
LIFE Recovery Association – Abbotsford, BC
$152,903 to LIFE Recovery Association that operates four residential recovery homes in Abbotsford BC which offer services designed for continued sober living and transition to independence for women who use substances. The project would hire an Indigenous Peer Support Worker who possesses cultural competence, lived experience, and an understanding of Indigenous traditions and healing methods to support Indigenous women enrolled in recovery programs at LIFE. The Indigenous Peer Support Worker will collaborate with the LIFE Recovery staff, program directors, and participants to create culturally sensitive interventions, organize support groups, facilitate discussions, and offer one-on one peer counseling.

The BCMHSUS Recovery College: A province-wide health literacy initiative for people with concurrent mental health and substance use challenges
Provincial Health Services Authority – Burnaby, BC
$1,456,132 to the Provincial Health Services Authority project to expand services of the BCMHSUS Recovery College, to better serve adults in BC living with at least one diagnosed mental health disorder and one diagnosed substance use disorder. The BCMHSUS Recovery College project would co-create and deliver with PWLLE, facilitated and self-paced online educational learning modules, and build up provincial networks to enhance the physical presence of the Recovery College in all BC communities.

Nothing About Us Without Us: Peer Support Worker Program to Enhance Adult Concurrent Mental Health and Substance Use Care
Provincial Health Services Authority – Burnaby, BC
$1,453,903 to target clients with complex substance use and severe mental health concerns in Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction (Coquitlam, BC), and Heartwood Centre for Women (Vancouver, BC). These two centres offer long term stay beds for 6-9 months and 3 months respectively. Two Peer Support Workers will be hired within Red Fish Healing Centre and within Heartwood Centre for Women. The Peer Support Workers will be integrated into multi-disciplinary care teams and will provide practical non-clinical support services using a trauma informed, harm reduction and peer-to-peer approach in group and one-to-one support meetings. They will also advocate and assist clients and their support networks in navigating appropriate healthcare supports.

Discovery Outreach
Penticton Recovery Resource Society's – Penticton, BC
$107,496 to employ previous clients, who have had more than 6 months of substance free recovery, and who have completed the 90-day supportive recovery treatment program, as peer outreach workers to target the adult street entrenched and substance using population of Penticton BC and surrounding communities. Peer workers will be provided with training on cultural sensitivity, trauma-informed care, mental health first aid, and motivational interviewing. When engaging with the street entrenched population, basic living supplies (food, blankets, clothes, toiletries, first aid supplies etc.) will be provided.

Shifting the Substance Use System of Care through Peer Navigators
ASK Wellness Society – Kamloops, BC
$2,081,314 for their project that will build on ASK's experience with providing transitional employment, to recruit, train, support and embed peer navigators within organizations in Penticton, Kamloops, and Vernon to transform substance use systems of care. Indigenous communities within these areas will also be engaged. ASK's program manager and social worker will work together to match the peer navigators with host organizations to best ensure peer safety and appropriate fit. In addition to expanding services, the project will also transform organizational culture to be more inclusive of people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) from leadership to frontline service delivery.

Quesnel Overdose Prevention Services
Coalition of Substance Users of the North Society – Quesnel, BC
$457,204 to increase contact and connection with people with lived and living experiences of substance use to provide harm reduction, overdose prevention, drug testing, outreach, education and a space that is safe. The project also helps people find and retain housing.

Community Ambassador Initiative (CAI)
Richmond Addiction Services Society – Richmond, BC
$733,775 to enhance peer support networks in Richmond, BC, by employing two part-time Community Ambassadors and one full-time Prevention Worker who will provide harm reduction education and awareness through outreach services, organized events, and training sessions to mitigate substance-related risk and reduce stigma. The target population is youth and young adults from 13 to 25, as well as individuals impacted by their own use or the substance use of family or friends. The project will also focus on establishing peer support networks, with Community Ambassadors taking leadership roles to foster a Community of Practice for Peer Support Workers.

Peer Support Initiative – Adult Addiction Medicine and Substance Use Services
Fraser Health Authority – Surrey, BC
$2,386,017 to embed peer support workers across six mental health and substance use programs at Fraser Health (Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Surrey, Maple Ridge and New Westminster) to target support to four key populations: men in trades, South Asians, Indigenous peoples, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons. Peer support workers will offer in person support group services across the region, and one-to-one connection to clients to help with transitions to existing services. Peer support workers will also engage in outreach to community OAT services located in Port Coquitlam, Langley and White Rock.

Chaku-man (to grow to manhood)
Provincial Health Services Authority/BC Centre for Disease Control – Vancouver, BC
$2,199,497 to the BC Centre for Disease Control's "Chaku-man" project will provide mentorship, skill-building, knowledge sharing, and land-based programming for Indigenous men in rural and remote First Nations communities in BC, who experience a disproportionate burden of alcohol and substance use impacts due to colonial interruptions and violence. Indigenous way of knowing and evaluation methodologies will be woven through all aspects of program planning and implementation, with continuous refinement informed by cycles of deep listening and reflection. Mentors will provide support to communities, as well as any necessary equipment and gear. The project will begin with four communities (Saik'uz, Splatsin, Lake Babine, and Taku River) who have expressed interest in men's programming. Additional communities will be identified, based on interest and readiness.

Expansion of the Peer Program to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre Shelters
Downtown Eastside Women's Centre Association – Vancouver, BC
$60,000 in addition to the $144,429 in funding to allow the organization to expand its Peer Program by hiring a Skills Development and Programming Coordinator and 10 Community Peer Workers in two Downtown Eastside Women's Centre shelter locations. Mainly led by women with lived or living experience, the program will offer services such as outreach to other organizations for supports, access to daily meals, safe services for pregnant women, medical services, as well as harm reduction supplies.

The Coming Home' Project: Indigenous Wellness & Resource Hub
Kilala Lelum Health and Wellness Cooperative – Vancouver, BC
$2,394,648 to serve as a low-barrier access point and safe space that will offer a range of supports, including a drop-in/respite area, access to harm reduction services, supplies and education, primary health care, case management, counselling, cultural wellness programming, social navigation housing support, employment and food security support, and Indigenous traditional medicine care programming.

Addictions Peer Outreach for Corrections
Umbrella Society for Addictions and Mental Health – Victoria, BC
$69,064 to Umbrella's Addictions Peer Outreach for Corrections to provide community transition services for incarcerated men with substance use disorders or released from Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre (VIRCC). The peer outreach worker will develop an individualized treatment plan which includes post-treatment supports such as housing, addictions counselling, medical support, harm reduction and other supports. SUAP funding will enable the project to expand the peer worker hours from part-time to full-time to better serve clients.

Level Up - Comprehensive Curriculum for PWLLE Working Front lines
Umbrella Society for Addictions and Mental Health – Victoria, BC
$183,425 for their project to create peer developed educational modules, manuals, online and in-person training resources to support the training and education of PWLLE working to address substance use in the community. In year 2 of the project, the resources will be rolled out to community partners for them to use with their staff. The teaching modules will be made ultra-accessible, in video, in person, and written format, and will have modules to address diversity, inclusion, cultural safety, and trauma informed practice in an Indigenous context.

Evaluating culturally-informed alcohol harm reduction models for Indigenous adults experiencing unstable housing: What does success look like from an Indigenous worldview?
University of Victoria – Victoria, BC
$2,536,544 to the University of Victoria, who, working with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, will develop and increase access to culturally-informed models of alcohol harm reduction reflective of Indigenous cultural diversity and create evaluation frameworks to guide Indigenous communities and Nations to report on the impacts of alcohol harm reduction programs. The evaluation framework will be piloted with land-based teachings and healing camps within Indigenous focused alcohol harm reduction programs in Victoria, BC and Calgary, AB. In parallel, the project will also build capacity within host organizations by supporting training for Indigenous people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) on research and evaluation.

Stronger Together for Youth and Families
Moms Stop the Harm Society – Victoria, BC
$1,408,249 to expand on the previously SUAP-funded Stronger Together Family-Peer Support project that ended on March 31, 2024. The previous project delivered workshops and peer support groups across Canada for families with loved ones living with a substance use disorder and families experiencing grief from losing a family member to substance use related causes. This new project will expand the existing support groups with a specific focus on youth who have lost a family member or have a family member with lived and living experience, including efforts to develop Indigenous youth support groups. Led by a trained facilitator, the youth groups would include an 8-session workshop exploring harm reduction, resources, self-care strategies, interpersonal relations, and communication with loved ones using substances. The project will also develop a phone service, aligned with the support groups, to provide access to trained facilitators as well as support to navigate grief after losing a loved one to substance use.

Alberta (total of $14,882,499 for 9 projects)

OAT Intensive Case management
CUPS Calgary Society – Calgary, AB
$1,808,048 to provide for an Intensive Case Management (ICM) program for low-income individuals with a history of complex opioid and/or polysubstance use who are discharged from treatment settings including acute care. Individuals will be connected to Opioid Agonist Therapy (methadone, Buprenorphine, Sublocade, and Kadian) and other wraparound care such as primary care, mental health counselling, economic support, housing, and prenatal care.

Incorporating peers as recovery coaches into Emergency Departments to provide support and facilitate management of substance use disorders while enabling transfer to community settings in Alberta
University of Calgary – Calgary, AB
$2,456,762 to the University of Calgary, who, in collaboration with multiple stakeholders including people with lived experience, will create a Recovery Coach Network (RCN) supporting persons with substance use concerns in transitioning between acute care and community care. Recovery Coaches (RCs) are persons with lived experience of substance use experienced in using a recovery model to assist clients to overcome barriers to healthcare access and facilitate timely access to care. Recovery Coaches will be available to discharged adults and their family members who present at three Calgary hospitals with substance use concerns.

Integrated Addiction Care within The Alex Community Health Centre
Alexandra Community Health Centre (The Alex) – Calgary, AB
$2,534,332 to provide integrated primary healthcare, social services and housing support to Calgary's most vulnerable citizens. The project would enable The Alex to expand their addiction care team with additional nurses, mental health clinicians, peer support workers and a peer support team lead to better focus on clients who use substances including opioids, cigarettes, and alcohol. Every person accessing The Alex will receive a "screen-assess-treat" approach to substance use which will connect individuals to supports (home visits, detox/treatment, follow-ups, housing) based on individually tailored treatment plans.

Pathways to Reintegration
Mustard Seed Street Ministry Foundation (The) – Calgary, AB
$3,045,493 to The Mustard Seed's Pathways to Integration program will provide pre-release and community-based support to increase recovery capital, stability and overall health of recently incarcerated adults struggling with substance use and addiction challenges who are transitioning back into the community. One-on-one support, peer support groups, parole navigation, connection with community programs and services, and Elder facilitated safe spaces and cultural access will be available to clients.

Intensive Care & Peer led Recovery Support for Vulnerably Housed Substance Users (IPRSVS)
S.H.A.R.P. Foundation (Society Housing Aids Restricted Persons) – Calgary, AB
$727,078 to the S.H.A.R.P. FOUNDATION project to target adults with complex substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness and living in S.H.A.R.P.'s permanent supportive care housing facilities. The Intensive Care & Peer led Recovery Support for Vulnerably Housed Substance Users (IPRSVS) program will provide substance use harms and risk reduction education, and intensive recovery supports and aftercare in a culturally safe way that considers the unique challenges of the largely Indigenous client base.

Utilization of telehealth and ECHO to support communities and individuals with substance use disorders
Alberta Health Services – Calgary, AB
$1,009,636 to expand, adapt and evaluate the existing Alberta Health Services (AHS) virtual telehealth-based Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Program (RAAM), targeting people who live in smaller and rural communities. Based out of the Calgary Zone RAAM, clinicians seeking consults and access to intensive treatment for their clients will have access, via the existing
telehealth network in Alberta, to a clinical team consisting of a physician/nurse practitioner, a
nurse, a counselor, and a peer.

Beyond Bars: Substance Abuse Support for Women Exiting Prison
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta – Edmonton, AB
$985,522 for their that will offer assistance to women and gender diverse individuals who have been recently released from incarceration and use substances in Northern Alberta communities. Clients will have access to counselling, support and guidance from peer mentors, and referral services to treatment and aftercare supports.

"Rapid Response Mobilization: A Comprehensive Approach to Opioid Poisoning and Recovery in Edmonton"
The Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation – Edmonton, AB
$1,132,197 for a project that supports a team that responds rapidly to opioid poisoning events in Edmonton and connects clients to health and social services. The rapid response team will also connect clients to a wide range of health and social services.

wicikapostawewin (Cree translation meaning "standing in support of another")
Samson Community Wellness (Under Samson Cree Nation) – Maskwacis, AB
$1,183,431 to the project by Samson Community Wellness to provide tailored and culturally sensitive aftercare and reintegration services for the Indigenous community of Samson Cree Nation, Alberta, who face complex challenges with substance use (including alcohol and cigarette use). Peer support programs and community engagement and collaboration with health services and community organizations will contribute to holistic and inclusive community reintegration.

Saskatchewan (total of $3,636,815 for 2 projects)

Peer-Led Interdisciplinary Community Transition Team (POISE) to Optimize Post-Release Care for Incarcerated Persons with OUD
Saskatchewan Health Authority – Regina, SK
$2,094,625 to train and support people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) to work as front-line peer navigators for people who use substances and who are transitioning into community settings post release from the Regina Correction Centre or White Birch Remand Unit in Saskatchewan. Wrapround services will include referrals to clinical and non- clinical programming, legal aid, access to key programming for income assistance, housing supports, counselling, and assessment for opioid agonist therapies (OAT). POISE will be a collaboration between the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan (APSS).

spâ yâ w (it is long lasting): Resourcing and sustaining Awasiw
All Nations Hope Network Inc. – Fort Qu'Appelle, SK
$1,542,190 to enhance their existing service, Awasiw, which is a harm-reduction drop-in space and the only service of its kind in Regina, serving people from First Nations communities nearby (e.g., Piapot, Pasqua). The project will respond to Awasiw service gaps by expanding staffing, developing a peer training program for the outreach team, and collaborating with harm reduction specialists to bridge Awasiw clients to The Place of Hope.

Manitoba (total of $2,722,491 for 2 projects)

RaY Striving Towards Addiction Recovery in Transitions (RaYSTART)
Resource Assistance for Youth Inc – Winnipeg, MB
$2,670,717 to support individuals who are exiting health, mental health and addictions, and/or treatment facilities with a focus on marginalized, street-entrenched, and at-risk youth (16 - 29 years old) struggling with mental health and/or addictions. The project will expand current street outreach services to provide more intensive case management supports to the hardest to reach individuals in Winnipeg. Services include housing supports, education and training, cultural supports, drop in programming, basic needs support, street outreach services, and mental health and addictions services, including connection to counseling and primary health care.

West Broadway Harm Reduction Outreach Project
West Broadway Development Corporation – Winnipeg, MB
$51,774 in addition to the $134,360 of funding for the project to create a peer-informed harm reduction outreach service consisting of three main initiatives: 1) outreach to adults who use drugs and are experiencing homelessness /housing insecurity; 2) community organizing to build harm reduction capacity in Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood; and 3) coordination of community responses to issues in the neighbourhood.

Ontario (total of $29,433,248 for 16 projects)

Peer Led Integrated Care Hub and Outreach Service
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit – Brockville, ON
$3,615,907 to provide a 24/7 single point of access to peer lead coordinated care that is rooted in harm reduction, equity, diversity, inclusion, trauma and violence informed care for people who are struggling with mental health, substance use and housing in Brockville, ON. This site will create a safe, inclusive, non-stigmatizing, respectful and coordinated one stop access point for vulnerable individuals and will provide them with access to basic needs items, nutritious snacks, harm reduction single use supplies, substance checking strips, wound care supplies and sharps disposal on site. People with lived and living experience (PWLLE) will support individuals through system navigation in conjunction with a variety of health care services, treatment, services social services, justice involved services and other non for-profit agencies. The project will also establish outreach teams to provide access to individuals who may be hesitant or unable to attend the fixed location or those who are discharged from various services after regular hours.

Peers in Recovery - Changes Recovery Homes (CRHs)
Lake of the Woods District Hospital – Kenora, ON
$1,148,585 for Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) Mental Health and Addictions (MHA) Community Programs to create a comprehensive staffing framework to add Residential Support Workers (RSW) into the staffing model of Changes Recovery Homes (CRH) in the Kenora region. CRH's service individuals with comorbidities such as psychological trauma, medical conditions, homelessness, and poverty, and RSWs will support clients and their families through relapse prevention education, peer support, helping families change their perspectives of the client in recovery, justice system navigation and advocacy, and other Structured Relapse Prevention (SRP) programming.

Leading the Way: PWLLE at the Forefront of Drug-Checking Initiative
The University of Western Ontario – London, ON
$4,079,180 to integrate People with Lived and Living Experience (PWLLE into drug-checking initiatives in harm reduction and public health centers in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. PWLLE will be trained in drug-checking technologies and methodologies to enable them to implement drug-checking initiatives and training programs in participating harm reduction and public health centres. PWLLE will also be consulted to help develop effective communication and training materials.

Empowering Gender-Specific Recovery for Successful Community Transition: Peer-Supported Sober Living Aftercare for Homeless Individuals Recovering from Substance Use Disorder
Redemption House of Recovery – Oshawa, ON
$981,601 to increase bed capacity for gender specific peer-led sober housing for people aged 18-80 in need of transitional community support in Durham Region, including the addition of two women specific homes. It will offer gender specific aftercare in sober, peer-led transitional homes to help overcome the physical, mental, and social impacts of substance use disorder. The project will deliver peer support groups, counseling, employment assistance, and housing stability to address trauma, mental health challenges, and associated barriers to community transition and reintegration.

Emotional First Aid for Peers and Frontline Workers of the Drug Poisoning Crisis
Priory of Canada of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (the) – Ottawa, ON
$2,983,980 to St. John Ambulance's project to reduce mental health injuries and burnout among peers and frontline workers who support people who use drugs. By providing targeted training, fostering the establishment and enhancement of peer-led networks, and creating open-source resource toolkits, this initiative strives for sustained impact and accessibility in supporting the wellness and resilience of both the frontline workforce and people with living lived experience.

Improving hospital discharges of people experiencing homelessness who use substances
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute/Institut de recherche de l'hôpital d'Ottawa – Ottawa, ON
$819,831 to provide transitional care to adults who use drugs and who are currently experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness or who are vulnerably housed (e.g. living in supportive housing) following discharge from the Ottawa Hospital. The project will co-design and pilot a person-centered, trauma-informed transitional care model at the Ottawa Hospital and with relevant community organizations which will include supporting the transfer of patients into the community. The project will consist of three key phases: information gathering and development of the care model, pilot testing the program, and program evaluation.

Improving substance use, mental health and housing outcomes in people recently released from incarceration: implementation of a pilot intervention of transitional community care
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute/Institut de recherche de l'hôpital d'Ottawa – Ottawa, ON
$628,445 to design, implement and evaluate a transitional service to improve substance use outcomes, mental health care and housing outcomes of incarcerated adults transitioning back into the Ottawa community. The project will involve three key phases: information gathering and development of the transitional care service, pilot testing the program with Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) and Ottawa Inner City Health, and program evaluation. While substance use is the primary focus of this program, it will be implemented with a comprehensive approach that includes employment, housing, and mental health services to support the patient's overall wellbeing.

Leading Change to Systems that Perpetuate Stigma around Substance Use: Moving from Engagement to Action
Community Addictions Peer Support Ottawa – Ottawa, ON
$36,200 to work with trained peer leaders who will help influence decision makers of organizations that serve people who use substances. These efforts will bring system-level changes to reduce substance-related stigma within their respective organizations.

National Overdose Response Service: A national hotline service connecting callers with peers for wellness planning, prevention education, and safer substance use consumption and support
Grenfell Ministries – Owen Sound, ON
$6,233,834 to expand their existing national peer-led virtual overdose monitoring service, NORS, to support communities disproportionately impacted by substance use including those in contact with the criminal justice system, those transitioning to treatment, rural, Indigenous, and construction/service industry workers. NORS will provide 6 weeks of peer-based case management and coaching to clients through their wellness program. NORS will also expand peer support for mental health first aid and stimulant-induced psychosis. Peer operators will have an expanded capacity to undertake text-based and chat room support for clients.

Go-Give Mobile Outreach Program
Go-Give Project (The) – Sudbury, ON
$160,391 in addition to the funding of $938,417 for their project that will increase the capacity and extend the range and hours of service for the organization's existing mobile outreach service. This includes distributing food, first aid, and harm reduction supplies such as naloxone kits, and inhalation supplies.

ADHD and Substance Use Peer led support Groups
Centre for ADD/ADHD Awareness Canada - Toronto, ON
$3,500 in addition to the $183,890 will develop and provide peer-led support groups across Canada for individuals who have attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and who use substances or have a substance use disorder (SUD). Delivered in a non-clinical environment, the groups will take place biweekly in five different time zones across the country. They will provide emotional support, mentorship for participants, education about (ADHD), as well as strategies to help participants manage some of the main symptoms that have led to substance use.

A new transition of care model: Incorporating peer support and community partnership into a unique Intensive Recovery Discharge Treatment Program at CAMH
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) – Toronto, ON
$1,984,087 to CAMH in partnership with The Neighborhood Group Community Services will develop a novel Intensive Recovery Discharge Treatment (IRDT) program to improve outcomes for adults following discharge from inpatient care for substance use disorder. An interdisciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, a recovery coach, an RN, and a pharmacist, will provide post discharge support for four weeks to ensure transition of care to other programs.

Enhancing Treatment for Individuals with Concurrent Substance Use and ADHD Challenges through Education and Multidisciplinary Connection for Front-line Workers
Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance – Toronto, ON
$35,000 in addition to the $597,488 for their project to develop a training program for Canadian health professionals with information on the assessment and management of ADHD, problematic substance use, social-cultural considerations, pharmacological management, psychosocial treatments, marginalization and discrimination, and motivational interviewing.

Harm reduction journey for justice-involved adults with IDD: A Pilot Program
Surrey Place – Toronto, ON
$4,202,998 to deliver a harm reduction program that provides client- focused care to adults with an intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) in the Toronto region, North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Kenora / Rainy River who are involved with the justice system and experiencing substance use disorder. It will pilot The SHIFT Model, Holistic and Intersectional Harm Reduction Services for People with Developmental Disabilities, which provides an outline to organizations on how to provide evidence-based and specialized support built on
humility, awareness, sensitivity and accessibility. Project activities will be delivered by a harm reduction team and will be supported by people with lived and living experience advisors. The project will also establish a provincial network of community partnerships within the developmental and mental health sectors, harm reduction and justice-focused organizations, fostering best practices in program delivery for adults with IDD experiencing substance use disorder.

National Knowledge Broker: Source for evidence-based resources, tools and capacity building for service providers working with people who use substances
Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange – Toronto, ON
$1,106,608 to increase knowledge among public health workers, healthcare workers, frontline service providers, and policy and program decision makers who provide services to people who use substances through a comprehensive collection of evidence informed tools, resources, and online/in-person capacity building activities. Knowledge products that will be delivered include journal articles, case studies, short knowledge exchange videos, CATIE blog articles, and print resources for clients. People with live and living experience will be primary partners and contributors throughout the span of the project.

Using Virtual Alcohol Withdrawal Management to Expand Access to Care for Indigenous People
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health – Toronto, ON
$1,413,101 to expand access to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) treatment for Indigenous adults (18-60) in Ontario by co-developing a culturally adapted alcohol withdrawal management intervention delivered virtually through telemedicine. Virtual alcohol withdrawal management will take place over a three-day period in which patients will take doses of benzodiazepines for detoxification. Following this, patients will be offered medications for AUD and up to 12 virtual sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy delivered weekly to reduce the risk of resuming alcohol consumption. The project will recruit patients through different Indigenous service providers across Ontario, including the Kenora-Rainy River Districts, traditional territory of the Anishinaabe in northwestern Ontario, Manitoulin Island (home to seven First Nations communities), and Indigenous patients in the Toronto region through Shkaabe Makwa, an Indigenous treatment program at CAMH.

Nova Scotia (total of $790,595 for 2 projects)

Reaching Out, Raising Up
Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society's – Halifax, NS
$648,579 to deliver a series of workshops, training sessions and sharing circles on topics identified by its staff and clients including health, safer drug use and overdose prevention, access to supports and services, service navigation, financial management, cultural safety, mental health first aid, project management, advocacy, computer skills, budgeting, and group facilitation. It will also deliver a daily street outreach service to people who use substances and are experiencing homelessness, with an emphasis on those who are sleeping in city-sanctioned and unsanctioned encampments. The project will target people with lived and living experience of substance use in the municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an emphasis on outlying areas. The outreach team will provide daily wellness checks, provide supports for safer drug use, and conduct cleanup and safe disposal of used needles. In addition, this team will also provide individuals with information, referrals and support with applications/paperwork that will facilitate them accessing shelter and housing, health care, primary care outreach, food, and clothing.

Connecting our Peers, Engaging our Community
Northern Healthy Connections Society – Truro, NS
$142,016 to encourage and prepare people with live and living experience (PWLLE) to play an active role in their community, as well as become more involved in existing harm reduction councils, backpack programs (needle collection), and outreach programs. It will deliver workshops to PWLLE of past or current substance use in Nova Scotian cities of Truro, Amherst, New Glasgow, and three Indigenous communities of Sipekne'katik, Millbrook, and Pictou Landing. Topics will include harm reduction, self and wound care, dealing with grief and loss, storytelling and art, recovery plan building, community resource list development, satellite peer-led advocacy group creation, grant writing, and budgeting. Completion of the modules would potentially lead to paid opportunities for PWLLE within the organization.

Prince Edward Island ($1,131,540 for 1 project)

Nestu'et Welo'ltimk - Healing Differently: Building First Nation Pre and Post Care Capacity in PEI
The Abegweit First Nation - Abegweit First Nation, PEI
$1,131,540 will subsidize core staff to develop and provide post-treatment addiction therapy, traditional healing, post-treatment culture-based programing, community reintegration transition care, outreach support, mentorship, and assistance navigating community, provincial and federal programs. While located in Abegweit First Nation's Scotchfort Reserve 4, this project targets all Indigenous Peoples residing in PEI and family members of people requiring addiction and/or corrections-related transition and addiction care.

Newfoundland and Labrador (total of $25,000 for 1 project)

Directed Education on Cannabis for Youth Decision Empowerment (DECYDE) - A Pilot Study
Memorial University of Newfoundland – St. John's, NL
$25,000 in addition to $282,840 to develop and implement a youth-driven cannabis education strategy to be imbedded in the grade 4-12 curriculum in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project will use harm reduction approach to cannabis education that will support youths' social-emotional competence and health literacy.

Yukon ($1,446,337 for 1 project)

Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Continuity of Care Project
Vuntut Gwitchin Government – Old Crow, Yukon
$1,446,337 to provide transition supports to people who use substances in Old Crow, a remote fly-in Indigenous community in northern Yukon. Community members accessing substance use treatment face the added barrier of prolonged travel through Whitehorse, a city with increased access to substances. The program will engage citizens with lived or living experience to provide more consistent care directly within the community, and will increase the use of culturally safe and inclusive programming and services.

Nunavut (total of $799,440 for 1 project)

Nuna Buddies Youth Addictions Program
Kitikmeot Friendship Society – Cambridge Bay, NU
$799,440 to provide much-needed support to Inuit youth (12 to 19 years old) residing in the Kitikmeot region (Cambridge Bay, Kugaaruk, Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, Kugluktuk) of Nunavut who are struggling with substance use and are at a higher risk of mental health issues and suicidal thoughts. The program's approach involves conducting sessions on the land, an ideal setting for the Inuit healing approach. The program will also provide an array of services, including counseling, group therapy, and recreational activities, all aimed at empowering youth and helping them overcome their addiction issues. The program will take a culturally sensitive approach, and consider the unique needs and traditions of the Inuit community.