National Addictions Awareness Week 2025
Image description: Text 'Drug Users Deserve Dignity Not Death' and '@DWS_EndViolence' on a grey with an illustration of a fireweed flower in the middle
This post was published on January 19, 2022 and has been updated.
November 16th marked the beginning of National Addictions Awareness Week, which lasts until November 22. This week creates space for people to learn more about what causes addictions; about prevention and harm reduction; a chance to talk about treatment and recovery, and to explore solutions for change. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction has this to say about this year’s theme, Anchoring Hope:
“Working in the substance use health field and addressing its challenges can result in different experiences, ideas and opinions for individuals, families and communities. At times, it can be challenging to agree on the best ways to address these issues in Canada. Hope is an optimistic state of mind that holds expectations for positive outcomes.
Exploring and discussing substance use health can lead to positive outcomes such as connections and growth. Yet the challenges and grief in the field cannot be unstated. In recent years, tens of thousands of people from across Canada have died because of the unpredictable drug supply. We need effective, holistic, whole-of-government and community action that is rooted in evidence and compassion. We need to work together to identify and reach common goals. And more than anything else, we need hope — hope for a brighter future with improved health and wellness of all people living in Canada.”
Why Does DWS Care?
Being a shelter that provides immediate emergency housing to women, gender diverse people, and kids who are either leaving violence or facing homelessness, we can’t separate the issues of why folks use substances to cope, and why folks might need emergency housing. For us they are entirely related.
At DWS, we strive to take a harm reduction approach, recognizing that asking people to be sober to access our services is a huge barrier. Read on to learn more about what’s behind addiction, and what harm reduction can look like.
It’s not a question of ‘Strength’
Dr. Daniel Sumrok challenges us to instead of thinking about ‘addictions’ think about “ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking” because “ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking (what traditionalists call addiction) is a normal response to the adversity experienced in childhood, just like bleeding is a normal response to being stabbed.”
Lots of folks assume that if substance use is harming someone they should be ‘strong’ enough to stop, but most folks who struggle with substances have one or more harmful childhood experiences - often called adverse childhood experiences, or ACES, that can be:
physical, emotional and sexual abuse;
physical and emotional neglect;
living with a family member who’s addicted to alcohol or other substances, or who’s depressed or has other mental illnesses;
experiencing parental divorce or separation;
having a family member who’s incarcerated,
witnessing a mother being abused.
To add to that, many folks will minimize or normalize their bad childhood experiences for so many reasons:
“Everyone growing up showed up to school hungry! You just dealt with it.”
“All my friends’ parents were struggling silently with how residential school harmed them. Why I am any different?”
“Most kids in my friend group had divorced parents who talked through the kids. I didn’t know there was help out there for me.”
Substance use often isn’t a first choice, but a response to traumatic experiences that folks could not control.
Coping with Pain
Renowned addictions expert Dr. Gabor Maté echoes this. He believes that the causes of addictions are not found in our genes, but that they are rooted in our early childhood environments. He talks about substance use as a way to self-medicate, to soothe pain caused by childhood trauma. Watch this short video to hear him speak more on this:
“The real question with addiction is not ’why the addiction?’ but ’why the pain?’”
What is harm reduction?
Harm reduction is a collection of practices that place the substance user at the center of care, meeting them where they’re at and seeing them as whole people who are the experts in their own lives. It’s a practice of non-judgement, of social justice, and it respects the rights of substance users.
Check out this short video from the National Harm Reduction Coalition to learn more.
Some examples of harm reduction include:
supervised consumption sites
access to a safer drug supply
access to safer use supplies, like injection and smoke kits
at-home drug test kits
widely available Naloxone and Narcan
free and accessible contraceptives and pregnancy tests
At DWS, harm reduction means we don’t shame service users who also use substances. While we don’t allow the consumption or possession of drugs and alcohol on site, we also don’t require that service users be sober to access our space or receive support. We understand that many survivors of gender based violence use substances to cope, and we have just as much compassion for those folks as we would any other survivor.
resources & support
in dawson:
You can find harm reduction supplies at the following locations:
lobby of the Dawson City Hospital, accessible 24 hrs
Jëje Zho/Men’s Shelter
Chief John Jonas Centre
Dawson Women’s Shelter
Washrooms at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s (seasonal)
The following resources are available for support:
Mental Wellness and Substance Use Dawson: counselling referrals, harm reduction supplies, rapid access counselling on Wednesdays from 1-3:30 pm. Located on the second floor of the Dawson City Hospital. Call 867-456-3838 for self-referral.
Willow Foundation: a non-profit that researches, supports and initiates projects which can create effective and innovative ways to support people who are affected by mental health and addictions. They are offer weekly peer support meetings for substance users and their loved ones. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Dawson Women’s Shelter: call our 24 hour support line for supportive listening, resources, and referrals. 867-993-5086
in canada:
NORS, or National Overdose Response Service, has a 24 hour safer consumption hotline, providing virtual supervised consumption. Their service is 100% confidential, anonymous, and judgement-free. Please don’t use alone. Call 1-888-688-6677
Hope for Wellness Helpline: Available 24/7 to all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across Canada for emotional support, crisis intervention, or referrals. Call 1-855-242-3310 or use the online chat service.
Kids Help Phone: This service is for children and young adults (ages 5 to 29) who need confidential support. Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868.
Trans Lifeline: Offers peer support and resources for trans and gender-diverse people. Call 1-877-330-6366.