Fourth annual Harm Reduction Forum is in Guelph on March 20

WELLINGTON CTY.

The Wellington-Guelph Drug Strategy Committee has announced the fourth annual Harm Reduction Forum, Taking Flight: Incorporating Harm Reduction Into Our Communities.

The forum will take place on March 20 from 8:30am to 4pm at the Italian Canadian Club on 135 Ferguson Street in Guelph.

The forum will feature Wilfrid Laurier University professor Stephanie Baker as keynote speaker. She is an experienced social worker who will be presenting on Harm Reduction and Concurrent Disorders.

Breakout sessions include; a presentation on gambling awareness and the changing technology of gambling with University of Waterloo researcher Kevin Harrigan,  YMCA youth gambling awareness coordinator Katie Stewart, and Homewood Community Addictions Services addictions/problem gambling counsellor Sylvie Smith. A presentation on Harm Reduction and Transgender Health and Services by CC Sapp, provincial trainer for the Ontario HIV and substance use training program.

A presentation on reducing alcohol related harms by Cathy Edwards from Kingston Public Health was complimented by a presentation on wet shelters by Dean Waterfield, director of Housing and Homelessness for Wesley Urban Ministries of Hamilton.

A presentation on Naloxone, the opioid overdose prevention medicine, by community coordinator Jan Klotz from Sanguen Health Centre and Preventing Overdose Waterloo-Wellington co-chairs Lindsay Klassen and Natasha Campbell.

Breakout sessions

The breakout sessions will be followed by a short presentation by Karen Swinbourne on Hello Sunday Morning, an Australian-based movement toward a better drinking culture.

The day will conclude with the Canadian premiere of Eyes Wide Open, a short film produced by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and Memory Tree Productions.

The film recalls the experiences of people affected by an accidental opioid overdose and the emergency medicine Naloxone.

Joe Cunningham and Betty-Lou Kristy, whose stories are highlighted in the film, will join the panel discussion along with Michael Parkinson from the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. The cost to attend is $50 for service providers and professionals, $15 for students, and subsidies are available for individuals with lived experience.

To register visit http://www.aidsguelph.org.

For more information contact Jacquie Gallivan 519-821-6638 x 402 at the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy.

March 15, 2013