Our Work

Ongoing Projects
A Question of Care (QoC)

A Question of Care (QoC) is a Peterborough-based training initiative focused on building and strengthening skills, knowledge, and awareness to address the intersections between substance use, stigma, mental illness, and trauma. Our goal is to see helping professionals and community members feel better equipped in person-centred relationships, and for people living with complexity to see a reduction in the stigma they encounter in their communities. Workshops, forums, and other events are offered at minimal cost with a focus on people in Peterborough City and County.

Visit www.questionofcare.com to learn more, view our training calendar, and register for an upcoming session.

Recent Projects
Lived Experience Advisory Panel (2017-2024)

The panel presented a platform where people with lived experience (PWLE) of substance use were paid to leverage their experiences to help shape local programs, policies, and initiatives. The panel offered organizations an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback on their activities and make necessary adaptations to more effectively serve the needs of individuals who have navigated experiences with substance use.

Local organizations presented their specific policies, programs, or initiatives to a panel, seeking valuable feedback from the panelists on how to enhance their effectiveness in meeting the needs of people who use drugs (PWUD). In particular, the group productively and respectfully discussed the strengths, room for improvement, and the specific and/or structural ways it could change to better services across our community.

Learn more here.

Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT) (2020-2024)

The Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT) was a collaborative project between FourCAST, PARN, Peterborough County and City Paramedics, the Peterborough Police Service, and the Peterborough Drug Strategy serving people in Peterborough City and County with the intent to reduce overdoses and minimize the risk of harms related to overdose and substance use, especially opioids. The project was designed to enhance our community’s response to the opioid/drug poisoning/overdose crisis, helping to fill gaps and working alongside the Consumption and Treatment Services Site (CTS) in Peterborough. Services included paramedic health assessment and connection to supports; distribution of harm reduction supplies including safe drug use equipment, wound care kits, and Naloxone; advocacy and referrals around shelter, housing, and other community supports; and outreach to unhoused individuals.

For more information, visit our MSORT page.

PDS Housing Report (2022-2023)

PDS conducted a housing research project between September 2022 and April 2023. PDS is a community-based organization focused on reducing the harms of substance use and it is well known that the drug poisoning epidemic intersects with the housing and homelessness crisis, and the mental health crisis – you cannot really talk about one without the other.

Learn more here.

 

Housing Unit Takeovers (HUTs) (2020-2023)

PDS provided project coordination to implement and oversee the Housing Unit Takeover (HUTs) project running from September 2020 to March 2023. The need for this project was determined at a PDS meeting in early 2020 and funds were secured through a Proceeds of Crime grant through the PDS Pillar partner Peterborough Police from the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The HUTs Project focused on research, education, and the creation of a manual intended to help collate existing tools and resources as well as provide some Peterborough Kawartha-specific context for use by PDS members, regional partners, and organizations.

Learn more here.

Past Projects
Peterborough Community Cannabis Project (2018-2020)

PDS supported helping professionals and members of the public in Peterborough City and County with evidence-based information and supports as we transitioned to legal cannabis for non-medical use.

Learn more here.

 

PDS Panel  Pilot Project (2017-2018)

The PDS Panel was an opportunity for people with lived experience related to substance use to use their expertise to help inform local programs, policies, and initiatives. It was also an opportunity for organizations to get feedback on their activities and adapt them to better meet the needs of people with lived experience of substance use. Over the course of a one-year pilot project (2017-18), we established the panel, which offered consulting services to PDS member organizations.

This project was generously funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

The panel was later re-launched in 2022. Learn more here.

 

Peterborough Regional Overdose Preparedness Project (2017-2018)

The Peterborough Police Service with PDS and other supporting organizations received funding in July 2017 from Proceeds of Crime Front-Line Policing program to support the harm reduction work already happening in our community.

Learn more here.

Did you know that you can acquire a free naloxone kit? If you, someone you know, or your workplace is in need of a free naloxone kit, you can locate an available kit near you.

 

Emergency Department Naloxone Access Project (2016-2017)

The Peterborough Police Service with PDS and other supporting organizations received funding in August 2016 from the Proceeds of Crime Front-Line Policing program to work with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) to implement a naloxone distribution kit program through the hospital’s emergency department.

Learn more here.

Youth Projects (2013-2015)

Between 2013 and 2015, the Peterborough Drug Strategy successfully implemented several community-based projects designed to address substance use among youth.

Learn more here.

PDS in the News
Contact Us

Reach out to the Peterborough Drug Strategy here.