Our Work
Scroll below to see more information on our ongoing and past PDS Projects!
Ongoing Project
Peterborough Youth Substance Use Prevention Initiative (PYSUP)
Peterborough Drug Strategy is fortunate enough to be part of the adminstration team for PYSUP. Peterborough is joining communities across Canada to work towards youth substance use prevention using the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM). With Planet Youth's mentorship, we will be implementing this long-term, community-driven approach to ensure youth are immersed in healthy, supportive social environments and learn to adopt healthy behaviours.
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Our goal is to work together to improve the social environment for children and youth in the Peterborough community, with the aim of preventing or reducing substance use harm among youth.
2017-2024
Lived Experience Advisory Panel
The PDS 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.
2020-2024
Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT)
The Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT) was a collaborative pilot project 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. PDS played a supportive role with knowledge translation and evaluation of the project.
2024
The Nogojiwanong-Peterborough Community Symposium on Housing and Homelessness
The Peterborough Drug Strategy (PDS) and the Research for Social Change Lab (RSCL) partnered to put on a symposium on housing and homelessness in Peterborough on February 22 & 23, 2024.
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This two-day event involved several interactive presentations and action-oriented activities. The content covered focused on systemic issues and solutions around homelessness in Peterborough City and County. This symposium was intended to support the RSCL’s Priority Roadmap by gaining community consensus and action-planning steps in realizing these goals. In addition, the symposium carved out intentional time for networking, enabling knowledge exchange, partnerships, building connections, and resource sharing.
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2022-2023
PDS Housing Report
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.
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The goal of this report was to:
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Clarify the role of the different levels of government in the housing and homelessness crisis;
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Identify creativity and innovation in the housing and homelessness response in four mid-sized cities in Ontario (Wellington County, The Region of Waterloo, The City of Greater Sudbury, and The City of Kingston).
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This report provides an accountability framework for federal, provincial, and municipal governments and presents four case studies on how communities are addressing the issue in productive ways.
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You can read the report here:​​​​​​
2020-2023
Housing Unit Takeovers (HUTs)
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.
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Project deliverables included:
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Regional assessment/environmental scan.
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Training and education for service providers, including police and landlords, and for tenants and the general public.
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Adapting, adopting, and creating various prevention tools/strategies.
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Adapting, adopting, and creating a continuum of intervention tools/strategies.
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Engaging more partners across multiple sectors.
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Enhancing holistic trauma-informed responses that focus on tenant well-being and safe housing and communities.
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2018-2020
Peterborough Community Cannabis Project
Beginning in 2018 until March 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.
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In 2019, PDS initiated a research and data collection process to help address the lack of locally relevant data sources pertaining to non-medical cannabis use in the City of Peterborough. Through a phone survey and focus groups, adult (18+) residents were asked about their views, knowledge, and consumption of cannabis.
Follow the below links to access project documents and videos:
2017-2018
PDS Panel Pilot Project
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.
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This project was generously funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
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​The panel was later re-launched from 2022 to 2024. Learn more here.
2017-2018
Peterborough Regional Overdose Preparedness Project (PROP)
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.
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From September 2017 to March 2018, PDS undertook a number of project components to meet identified harm reduction needs in our community.
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These activities included:
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Supporting local pharmacists to distribute naloxone in their pharmacies.
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A local training schedule of opioid training for employees at risk of needing to respond to an onsite overdose at work.
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Training for service providers and specialized training for establishments that serve alcohol.
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The training model created through this grant will continue to offer training beyond the end of the funding timeframe.
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Development of informational resources that respond to community requests, including:
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Information Sheets.
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A policy document to help agencies develop a first-aid response policy to opioid overdoses.
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Access to local online information about opioids.
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Click here to view our PROP Impact Report
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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.
2016-2017
Emergency Department Naloxone Access Project
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.
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The goal of this project was to arm individuals who are at risk of overdose and their families with a life-saving harm reduction tool. Through this partnership, the emergency department staff received training to distribute take-home naloxone kits to emergency room patients at risk of an opioid overdose.
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Project Background (2016):
In recent years, accidental deaths due to opioid overdoses and poisonings have steadily increased. Opioid overdose is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional death in Ontario, and opioid-related deaths more than double the rate of fatalities resulting from traffic collisions.
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Naloxone is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioids (such as morphine, heroin, methadone, oxycodone, and fentanyl) can slow or halt breathing, resulting in a loss of consciousness. Administering naloxone can help to temporarily restore normal breathing, preventing brain damage or even death.
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Research shows that with minimal training, people with no medical background can recognize and treat an overdose with naloxone as successfully as a healthcare provider. Additionally, individuals are empowered by the ability to save lives, and naloxone distribution programs help reduce stigma towards people who use drugs. Naloxone does not replace the need for emergency medical care but can help prevent deaths and reduce irreversible, long-term complications associated with opioid overdose.
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Take-Home Naloxone Distribution Programs are an evidence-based approach with positive benefits and are sought after by our communities. In order to effectively treat opioid addiction, it is necessary to ensure that the individuals who use opioids are alive to receive treatment.
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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.
2013-2015
Youth Projects
Between 2013 and 2015, the Peterborough Drug Strategy successfully implemented several community-based projects designed to address substance use among youth.
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Challenge, Beliefs, Change (CBC)
Challenges, Beliefs, and Change connected senior high school students to grade 8 feeder school classrooms to facilitate discussions about substance use, internet safety, and making healthy choices. Most of this information is conveyed through hands-on activities that are engaging, interactive, and interesting to both the facilitators and the students. The students are accompanied by the school liaison officer and student success teacher from the high school, who are responsible for providing support to the peer leaders.
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This program was started in 1985 by Parent Action on Drugs and aims to increase knowledge and awareness of personal beliefs regarding substances and substance use; build skills, confidence and resiliency for dealing with teen challenges; foster positive relationships among youth, schools, and the broader community and aid in the transition to high school. It emphasizes a non-judgmental atmosphere where youth can openly share their opinions rather than a fear-based, ‘don’t do drugs’ approach.
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The program created an opportunity for grade 8 students to:
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Connect with high school students who will be at their school the following year.
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Have the opportunity to meet support staff and make an early connection (student success teacher and school liaison officer).
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Ease the transition to high school.
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Learn important information in a fun and enjoyable environment.
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Make a positive connection to a Peterborough police officer.
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High School Peer Leaders also had the opportunity and benefitted by:
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Increasing their confidence in public speaking.
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Receiving substance use education.
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Exploring the opportunity to be a role model for younger students.
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Making connections with students who will be in their school the following year.
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Getting involved in their community.
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Student Success Teachers benefitted by:
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Developing strong relationships with peer leaders and students alike.
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Collaborating with other community agencies (e.g. Parent Action on Drugs, police services, Peterborough Public Health, etc.).
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Having the opportunity to visit the feeder schools and connect with future grade 9 students.
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​During the 2015/16 season, data was collected to evaluate the program, and a report was published in Fall 2016.
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Strengthening Families for Parents and Youth (SFPY)
Up to 2015, PDS implemented the Strengthening Families for Parents and Youth (SFPY) program in Peterborough. SFPY is a great program that comes from Parent Action on Drugs. The goal of the program is to improve communication between parents and teens. Topics covered included communication, praise, stress management, and other issues that impact family relationships.
Benefits for Parents:
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Learn to understand where their teen is coming from.
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Improve communication.
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Find fresh approaches to old problems.
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Set the stage for positive discipline.
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Ensure a consistent approach to guiding their teen’s behaviour.
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Benefits for Teens
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Learn to understand their parents’ concerns.
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Improve communication.
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Build social skills to help them make good decisions that will support their well-being and mental health.
Life Unleashed
Life Unleashed was a speakers group made up of youth who have lived experience of alcohol and drug use and/or mental health issues. After several months of training, participants had the opportunity to share their stories of adversity, challenge and change with other members of the Peterborough community.
The goal of Life Unleashed was to build public speaking skills for youth and empower them to share their experiences while providing audiences (often younger youth) with insightful reflections.