As is sadly evident, the overdose crisis is still going strong. The Community Action Initiative (CAI) is looking for input from people working in community-based organizations that are responding to the overdose crisis. They have developed a short survey to gather information from community based organizations that are experiencing the impact of overdose.
I’ll be keen to hear what they learn but have no doubt it will align with what PAN has already heard from many of our member organizations. As we move solidly into the second year of this public health emergency, service providers are feeling the cumulative effect of providing care and support. People who use drugs are witnessing peers in desperate situations and sometimes losing loved ones under sad circumstances. Paramedics and first responders are “starving” for resiliency training and will get it , but what of community based organizations providing overdose reversal care with few resources for this kind of training? Many CBOs can’t afford employee assistance programs that paramedics and other first responders have access to; so their strain will undoubtedly continue.
These concerns and many others are reflected in the research PAN did to explore the needs of front line workers and PWLE – these findings based on 24 interviews were written up in this Rapid Assessment Report. Grief was identified as an enormous pressure on people. Developing the resilience to provide in-the-moment care in a crisis and ongoing support in harm reduction efforts isn’t easy, as many people who use drugs (PWUD) who provide peer support can attest to as well.
As responding to the overdose crisis is ongoing, so is the conversation on how best to do so. The more evidence we have on the impact on community organizations, the better we position ourselves for advocacy. If your organization is experiencing the impact of the overdose crisis, CAI requests that you take the Overdose Response Survey. The survey will be open until June 30th.
Explore our Drug Use and Overdose Response resources
Questions? Feedback? Get in touch!
Janet Madsen, Capacity Building and Knowledge Translation Coordinator, [email protected]