All Women Are Welcome: Reducing Barriers to Women's Shelters With Harm Reduction

Partner Abuse ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-428
Author(s):  
Angela Hovey ◽  
Susan Scott
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Service Delivery Model ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Minimal Research

Women who experience domestic violence are more likely to use or become dependent on substances. Their health and safety are at greater risk when Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters have policies prohibiting admission if noticeably impaired. Harm reduction strategies can help reduce harms caused by substance use. Minimal research was found about impacts of integrating harm reduction in VAW shelters. We examined women's experiences with a harm reduction service delivery model at a Canadian rural VAW shelter. Interviews were conducted with 25 former residents to explore their experiences. Most women preferred to have harm reduction implemented, although most women also wanted changes made to harm reduction practices. These recommended changes would enhance positive experiences and feelings of safety for all women, thereby achieving the goal of all women welcome. Overall, our findings support the integration of harm reduction in VAW shelters that balances harm reduction philosophy and practices with the individualized needs of traumatized women and safety of children.

scholarly journals A Critical Narrative Inquiry to Understand the Impacts of an Overdose Prevention Site on the Lives of Site Users

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abe Oudshoorn ◽  
Michelle Sangster Bouck ◽  
Melissa McCann ◽  
Shamiram Zendo ◽  
Helene Berman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Overdose Prevention ◽  
Caring Relationships ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Globally, communities are struggling to gain support for harm reduction strategies being implemented to address the impacts of substance use. A key part of this discussion is understanding and engaging with people who use drugs to help shape community harm reduction strategies. This study focused on how an overdose prevention site has influenced the lives of people who use drugs.MethodsA critical narrative method was utilized, centred on photo-narratives. Twenty-seven individuals accessing an overdose prevention site were recruited to participate in preliminary interviews. 16 participants subsequently took photographs to describe the impact of the site and participated in a second round of interviews. Through independent coding and several rounds of team analysis, four themes were proposed to constitute a core narrative encompassing the diverse experiences of participants. ResultsA key message shared by participants was the sense that their lives have improved since accessing the site. The core narrative proposed is presented in a series of four themes or ‘chapters’: Enduring, Accessing Safety, Connecting and Belonging, and Transforming. The chapters follow a series of transitions, revealing a journey that participants presented through their own eyes; one of moving from utter despair to hope, opportunity, and inclusion. Where at the outset participants were simply trying to survive the challenges of chaotic substance use, through the relationships and services provided at the site they moved towards small or large life transformations.ConclusionsThis study contributes to an enhanced understanding of how caring relationships with staff at the overdose prevention site impacted site users’ sense of self. We propose that caring relationships are an intervention in and of themselves, and that these relationships contribute to transformation that extends far beyond the public health outcomes of disease reduction. The caring relationships at the site can be a starting point for significant social changes. However, the micro-environment that existed within the site needs to extend beyond its walls for true transformative change to take place. The marginalization and stigmatization that people who use drugs experience outside these sites remains a constant barrier to achieving stability in their lives.

Harm Reduction for Intravenous Substance Use

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Cara L. Connaughton ◽  
Jillian J. Boerstler ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Catholic Health Care ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Overdose Deaths

North America is facing an ongoing, persistent opioid epidemic, and Vancouver, British Columbia, continues to be one of its devastating epicenters, with record overdose deaths in 2020. Roman Catholic health care organizations in Vancouver are compelled to pioneer potential solutions to this public health crisis—in solidarity and employing necessary strategies to help the most vulnerable in the communities served. While controversial, harm reduction strategies for intravenous substance use keep people alive until they are able to receive the help that they need to recover. An evaluation of the degree of cooperation involved in some harm reduction strategies indicates that they can be considered morally permissible and compatible with core tenets of Catholic bioethics.

scholarly journals A critical narrative inquiry to understand the impacts of an overdose prevention site on the lives of site users

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abe Oudshoorn ◽  
Michelle Sangster Bouck ◽  
Melissa McCann ◽  
Shamiram Zendo ◽  
Helene Berman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Overdose Prevention ◽  
Caring Relationships ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Globally, communities are struggling to gain support for harm reduction strategies being implemented to address the impacts of substance use. A key part of this discussion is understanding and engaging with people who use drugs to help shape community harm reduction strategies. This study focused on how an overdose prevention site has influenced the lives of people who use drugs. Methods A critical narrative method was utilized, centred on photo-narratives. Twenty-seven individuals accessing an overdose prevention site were recruited to participate in preliminary interviews. Sixteen participants subsequently took photographs to describe the impact of the site and participated in a second round of interviews. Through independent coding and several rounds of team analysis, four themes were proposed to constitute a core narrative encompassing the diverse experiences of participants. Results A key message shared by participants was the sense that their lives have improved since accessing the site. The core narrative proposed is presented in a series of four themes or “chapters”: Enduring, Accessing Safety, Connecting and Belonging, and Transforming. The chapters follow a series of transitions, revealing a journey that participants presented through their own eyes: one of moving from utter despair to hope, opportunity, and inclusion. Where at the outset participants were simply trying to survive the challenges of chaotic substance use, through the relationships and services provided at the site they moved towards small or large life transformations. Conclusions This study contributes to an enhanced understanding of how caring relationships with staff at the overdose prevention site impacted site users’ sense of self. We propose that caring relationships are an intervention in and of themselves, and that these relationships contribute to transformation that extends far beyond the public health outcomes of disease reduction. The caring relationships at the site can be a starting point for significant social changes. However, the micro-environment that existed within the site needs to extend beyond its walls for true transformative change to take place. The marginalization and stigmatization that people who use drugs experience outside these sites remains a constant barrier to achieving stability in their lives.

scholarly journals Problematic substance use or problematic substance use policies?

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 135-142
Author(s):  
Tim Stockwell ◽  
Cecilia Benoit ◽  
Kiffer Card ◽  
Adam Sherk
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Alcohol Control ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Problematic Substance Use ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Canadian Health ◽  
Problematic Substance

This special issue on substance use issues comes at a critical time for Canadian health policy makers and researchers. Most attention is currently focussed on the opioid crisis and the potential impacts of cannabis legalization. However, our most widely used and harmful substances continue to be alcohol and nicotine. Our policies to reduce harms from these substances are failing. While alcohol control policies are being gradually abandoned, opportunities to maximize the harm reduction potential of new, alternative and safer nicotine delivery devices are not being grasped. More generally, a greater focus is needed on harm reduction strategies that are informed by the experience of marginalized people with severe substance use-related problems so as to not exacerbate health inequities. In order to better inform policy responses, we recommend innovative approaches to monitoring and surveillance that maximize the use of multiple data sources, such as those used in the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) project. Greater attention to precision in defining patterns of risky use and harms is also needed to support policies that more accurately reflect and respond to actual levels of substance use-related harm in Canadian society.

scholarly journals Substance-use and sexual harm reduction strategies of methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men and inject drugs

AIDS Care ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1047-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Wilkerson ◽  
Syed W. Noor ◽  
Ellen D. Breckenridge ◽  
Adeniyi A. Adeboye ◽  
B.R. Simon Rosser
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Sex With Men

Poly-substance use and related harms: A systematic review of harm reduction strategies implemented in recreational settings

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1186-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahira Akbar ◽  
Alex Baldacchino ◽  
Joanne Cecil ◽  
Marco Riglietta ◽  
Børge Sommer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Reduction Strategies

scholarly journals Blame it on alcohol: ‘passing the buck’ on domestic violence and addiction

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 718
Author(s):  
Nokuthula Mazibuko ◽  
Ikechukwu Umejesi
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Black Township

<p>Domestic violence against women is a serious health and safety problem facing women around the world. Scholars of domestic violence have identified demographic factors such as age, number of children, family structure, unemployment, substance abuse, stress factors within the family, male partner’s educational attainment and poverty, as closely associated with domestic violence. While these factors have gained scholarly recognition, there is a dominant narrative among victims of domestic violence that “alcohol is responsible” for abusive relationships in Mamelodi, a black township near Pretoria, South Africa. Using the empirical data from Mamelodi, this article probes the narratives of female victims of domestic violence. The paper uses qualitative data in its analysis.</p>

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