Last weeks Citizen Forum at the Lions Community Centre in Cobourg raised questions about resident safety around town and particularly around Transition House.
A local resident and mother of young children who lives close to Transition House described finding discarded drug paraphernalia in the yard where her children play and expressed concerns for their safety, and what could she do about it. The sentiment was echoed by a local business that has a similar issue.
We spoke to PARN’s Executive Director Dane Record who told us you can definitely call them for help, but you can also do clean up yourself with just a couple of dollar store purchases.
Harm reduction is part of PARN’s work to minimize the harmful consequences of drug use and other high risk activities.
Dane told us that there are five sharps bins located around Northumberland County – with one just in front of Transition House.
You can make a difference by educating yourself; get training on overdose prevention and naloxone use and assure people that it’s okay to talk about substance use. Getting the conversation started is probably the biggest single step in reducing harm and helping individuals seek treatment options.
Record tells us they’re not here to be confrontational, but rather, to inform, educate and break down the stigma of drug use.
PARN provides harm reduction supplies to people who use injection and inhalation drugs in order to reduce the risk of HIV transmission and other blood-borne infections.
The Ontario Public Health Standards (2008) state that the Boards of Health in all Public Health Regions “shall ensure access to a variety of harm reduction program delivery models which shall include the provision of sterile needles and syringes and may include other evidence-informed harm reduction strategies in response to local surveillance.”
PARN uses the Four Pillars approach which is recognized internationally as an effective way to address the harms associated with substance use. It uses the four pillars of Prevention, Harm Reduction, Enforcement, and Treatment to form a balanced, solid foundation on which to build a comprehensive community drug strategy.
For more info on PARN, the work they do and how you can get involved, visit Home – PARN.
Written by Joseph Goden
