By: Noah Chalifoux – Project Manager – Community Development/Local Leadership United
The CAI Local Leadership United (LLU) team is pleased to share the LLU interim report titled “We cannot do this work alone: Gathering Hope in the Seventh Year of BC’s Unregulated Drug Poisoning Crisis”.
LLLU is a provincial project, funded by the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, delivered through partnership between CAI and the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) that seeks to support local government engagement in local community overdose response efforts. This work was initiated in recognition of the important role that local governments play in creating environments supportive of health for all community members, in collaboration with their partners in health, government and community. From April 2022 to November 2023, LLU held 27 full-day dialogues with local governments and community partners, across all five health authorities, as well as a provincial convening of LLU membership.
Grief, exhaustion and the complexity of the Unregulated Drug Poisoning Crisis and intersecting challenges mean that these are difficult, but important conversations to have. The LLU team extends deep gratitude to all of our partners who have participated in these dialogues and made this work possible. The commitment of partners across all sectors to the health of our communities gives us hope amidst challenging realities.
This report summarizes an evaluation completed to better understand local government engagement in community overdose response, outlines LLU’s impact in supporting harm reduction initiatives, and identifies additional additional supports needed for local government.
Local Leadership United Dialogues will continue to take place through December 2024. If you would like more information on how to bring a dialogue to your community, please reach out to Noah Chalifoux, Project Manager – Community Development/Local Leadership United.
With gratitude to the BC Overdose Emergency Response Centre (OERC) for making this work possible, through their continued investment in the health of BC communities.