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City of Quesnel to receive $75,000 grant to fight overdose crisis

The grant will go toward the implementation of a plan to address addiction issues in the city
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Members of local peer organization Coalition of Substance Users of the North are working to advocate for drug users in Quesnel. Observer file photo

The City of Quesnel has received a $75,000 grant from the Community Overdose Crisis Innovation Fund.

The city was announced as a recipient by the B.C. government on Friday, Oct. 12.

Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson says the money will be used for two different components. The city has been working with B.C. Housing and Northern Health to bring together the expertise of those involved in addictions work in the community to create a road map to improve the services in the city.

The group, which also includes Seasons House, Northern Health funded initiatives, the Tillicum Society Native Friendship Centre, the Salvation Army, and anyone else playing a role in the lives of people with addictions – including peers – has been meeting on a monthly basis over the last year and a half.

Mayor Simpson says they’ve signed off on a strategy to address addictions in the community, and now they need to hire someone to implement the plan.

He says the main part of the funding will go toward this role.

The second component of the grant will go toward a peer-to-peer support program. The person hired to implement the plan will also be responsible for co-ordinating peer resources.

This will mean getting “some peer-to-peer relationships on the street to understand where we have service gaps, and to make sure people are aware of where they can get the services [they need],” says Simpson.

The idea of peer-to-peer support was borne of the desire to have the ability to respond to issues with addicts in a way that provides them with more information about where service gaps exist and what can be done to fill them.

The grant is part of a two-stream process administered by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Community Action Initiative (CAI), which aims to provide resources for targeted overdose prevention initiatives in affected communities around B.C.

The CMHA is distributing the grants in collaboration with the B.C. Ministries of Health and of Mental Health and Addictions.

The Community Overdose Crisis Innovation Fund is part of the province’s three-year, $322-million investment to address the overdose crisis in B.C.

READ MORE: Peer support workers in Quesnel work to reduce overdose deaths in the north