Promoting a Healthy Drinking Culture in BC

Please note: the Alcohol Dialogue Grants are no longer accepting applications. Please join our mailing list to be kept up to date on future grant opportunities.

Community Action Initiative awarded convening grants up to the value of $15,000 to fund community dialogues around moderate-risk alcohol consumption. In addition to the convening funds, grantees and their communities were supported with alcohol-related resources and capacity-building tools, along with knowledge exchange opportunities.

We partnered with community-based organizations in municipalities across BC to lead and collaborate  to explore alcohol-related harms caused by moderate-risk drinking in their community, and work together towards building a healthier drinking culture.

Background

Drinking alcohol is a part of Canadian culture, and it is widely consumed and enjoyed by many across BC. However, a great deal of people are still not aware of the safe drinking limits based on Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines, and how exceeding the limits can impact their health and family. Alcohol-related harms are on the rise in BC due to increasing levels of alcohol consumption.

There is still a common misconception that these alcohol-related harms are restricted to the small number of individuals who frequently drink in excess or are dependent on alcohol (high-risk drinkers). However, the majority of alcohol-related harm actually occurs amongst the much larger group of people who engage in moderate-risk drinking, occasional binge drinking and drinking in hazardous circumstances (e.g. before driving). The normalization of drinking alcohol can make this a challenging issue to examine and address.

Further details about this funding opportunity can be found at www.healthydrinkingbc.ca