Substance Use and Stigma Learning Modules - Now Available on Our Training Room

Hello everyone please see the below information from CK Public Health's Harm Reduction Coordinator, Devyn Demars, regarding new learning modules on substance use and stigma. These modules are now live on Our Training Room for staff who interact with community members through their work.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) has created online learning resources to help Canadians recognize the various forms of stigma and their devastating impact on people who use substances. The learning resources consist of three modules to help change the conversation around stigma and substance use.

CK Public Health has received permissions from CCSA to use the following three modules and they are now available on Our Training Room:

• The Pain of Stigma: Recognizing Stigma and Its Impacts
• Insights on Substance Use: Understanding the Science on Substance Use Disorder
• Stigma Ends with Me: Changing the Conversation about Substance Use

From a DEIJ lens, stigma and discrimination of people who use substances create and perpetuate significant barriers to wellbeing and good health. It often prevents people from seeking the help they need. The goal of these modules is to improve your understanding of stigma and provide you with the skills and information you need to address stigma at home, at work, and in the community. The modules are designed to challenge biases by utilizing thought-provoking exercises from experts in the field, including people with lived and living expertise. The modules provide an explanation of the science behind substance use and substance use disorders. They will teach you that by using person-first language, you can begin to change the way you think and treat people who use substances and people with substance use disorder. How we approach stigma and substance use are part of an ongoing conversation. Even small shifts in language can help reduce the harms of stigma and break down barriers for people who use substances.

Additional Resources for Continued Learning:

• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction - Overcoming Stigma Through Language: A Primer
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health – Addressing Stigma
• CK Public Health – Change Begins with Me
• Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) - Stigma Ends With Me
• First Nations Health Authority – Increase the Support. Reduce the Harm
• Recovery Research Institute - Addictionary
• Alcohol and Drug Foundation – The Power of Words Flipbook

If you have any questions about the new learning modules or any of these resources please don't hesitate to reach out to Devyn devynd@chatham-kent.ca or myself jordynnel@chatham-kent.ca. Let us know what you think!