DBIA Offering Free De-Escalation and Harm Reduction Training for Local Businesses

The Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) in partnership with Peterborough & Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce are bringing back their free series of Narcan Training Sessions for local businesses and their employees.

Sarah Budd the new President, CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce (left) posing with Terry Guiel Executive Director of the Peterborough DBIA with life-saving Naloxone kit to treat overdose. photo courtesy of the dbia.

This year the training program will be adding another important element to the sessions that will include mental distress recognition, response, and communication strategies.

When the DBIA began hosting Narcan training sessions back in 2019 and 2020- they were the only BIA in Ontario offering this level of support to its members. Now the program has expanded to reach more businesses and to help tackle the stigma of opioid use.

“Our community, like many around the province, is dealing with an addiction crisis. This crisis is hitting the workplace,” says Sarah Budd, president and CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce. “Businesses where there are risks of overdoses are encouraged, and soon will be required, to have a naloxone kit on hand with staff trained in its use. These workshops are a good opportunity to get familiar with this life-saving medication and learn how to save lives.”

While Canadian Red Cross will be providing the Narcan training sessions, the Canadian Mental Health Association and Haliburton Kawartha Pineridge District Health Unit will be offering a separate group of sessions to educate business members of the Chamber and DBIA on how to recognize and respond to someone in mental distress.

Mark Graham, CEO of Canadian Mental Health Association and Haliburton Kawartha Pineridge District Health Unit is happy to support the initiative as well.

“CMHA HKPR is pleased to partner with the local business community in providing owners and their staff with the skills and tools necessary to recognize and respond to mental distress,” says Graham.

This year the DBIA and Chamber of Commerce have extended an invitation to members of the Peterborough Home Builders Association and the Peterborough & District Construction Association.

New Provincial laws coming into effect this June will make it a requirement for ‘at risk’ businesses to be trained in Narcan administration. 

The Canadian Red Cross has played a vital role in local harm reduction with their Opioid Harm Reduction Project. The Canadian Red Cross is committed to helping communities reduce opioid-related deaths by increasing Canadians’ access to response training and naloxone, a life-saving medication that temporarily reverses the life-threatening effects of opioid poisoning.

The Canadian Red Cross’s Opioid Harm Reduction project is creating additional access for Canadians to learn how to save lives in opioid poisoning situations. The Opioid Harm Reduction Project was funded by a contribution from Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP).

Narcan Training Sessions will take place March 23 with 3 schedule choices: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to noon and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and March 24 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

CMHA HKPR Sessions will also take place on both the 23rd and 24th at the same times, featuring working sessions on Communication Strategies from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Mental Distress: Recognition and Response Session from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The sessions will happen at Venture North (270 George St. N) Parking is available at the King Street Parking Garage. Participants are asked not to park in the Venture North parking lot.

For more information and training options visit the website, or sign up using this link.

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