Glossary

The Four Pillar Approach: An evidence-based approach that has been used widely for drug strategy development across Canadian municipalities. The four pillars include prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and community inclusion and safety. 

Prevention:  Interventions that seek to prevent or delay the onset of substance use or reduce the factors that increase the risk of harmful substance use. These interventions would increase protective factors that provide education and awareness elevating community knowledge of stigma and substance use.

Harm Reduction:  Interventions, programs/policies that aim to reduce potential adverse health, social and economic consequences of substance use, drug policies, and drug laws. These interventions acknowledge the rights and experiences of people who use substances to use in safer ways, helping to reduce risks such as communicable disease transmission and poisoning related harms and deaths, while increasing connection to community care and support.

Treatment and Recovery: Interventions that seek to improve the physical and emotional well-being of people experiencing difficulties related to substance use. This can include a broad range of community-based medical and counselling interventions, outreach support and other bio-psychosocial programs. These interventions would include a continuum of client-centered services that focus on developing the capacity to make healthy choices, ranging from abstinence-based programs to managed used program, depending on the client's goals. Any door is the right door to access support.

Community Inclusion and Safety: This pillar recognizes the community’s need for peace, public order, and safety. As an integral component of this strategy, human connection is at the core of community safety and is prioritized, in addition to the enforcement components of the broader criminal justice system. It addresses the crime and social disorder related to substance use while protecting the vulnerable and preserving and protecting life.

People with Lived/Living Expertise (PWLE): Individuals who currently use substances or who have previously used substances.

Substances: Substances include a wide range of regulated and unregulated substances, such as, but not limited to, cannabis, nicotine, alcohol, opioids, stimulants, and hallucinogens.

Community Partner: Individuals that are 16 years of age or older, and work for an agency that serves the CK region in Chatham-Kent. 

Community Member: Individuals that are 16 years of age and older and live, or work, or go to school in Chatham-Kent.