Faculty
Health Science
Supervisor Name
Anita Kothari
Keywords
harm reduction, emergency housing, shelter, opioid crisis, opioid overdose, precarious housing, homelessness, substance use, health policy, overdose policy
Description
Since 2018, the number of overdoses reported by London housing and emergency shelter agencies to the city of London has increased by 790%.These agencies currently have inconsistent overdose response policies that lack research-based support, and want to establish comprehensive best practices that support those involved at all levels.
Through a community based course, we initially collected and analyzed survey data from managers and staff from various London housing and emergency shelter agencies with the aim of understanding the limitations of the current approaches to the opioid crisis. Wanting to expand on this, our current project focuses on those who are experiencing homelessness or substance use personally. With a focus on lived experience, we hope to expand the conversation surrounding homelessness/precarious housing and substance use to include their stories as we continue to develop new substance use policies for housing and emergency shelter agencies in London.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Dr. Anita Kothari, Dr. Leora Swartzman for supervising our USRI project. The Undergraduate Student Research Internship for funding our research. Our community partners, Chuck Lazenby at Unity Project, Jason Manseau and Lena Burton at YOU, and Mike O’Reilly from Indwell for their feedback and collaboration.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Social Work Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Learning From Lived Experience: Substance Use Policies, Emergency Shelters, and Harm Reduction in London, ON
Since 2018, the number of overdoses reported by London housing and emergency shelter agencies to the city of London has increased by 790%.These agencies currently have inconsistent overdose response policies that lack research-based support, and want to establish comprehensive best practices that support those involved at all levels.
Through a community based course, we initially collected and analyzed survey data from managers and staff from various London housing and emergency shelter agencies with the aim of understanding the limitations of the current approaches to the opioid crisis. Wanting to expand on this, our current project focuses on those who are experiencing homelessness or substance use personally. With a focus on lived experience, we hope to expand the conversation surrounding homelessness/precarious housing and substance use to include their stories as we continue to develop new substance use policies for housing and emergency shelter agencies in London.