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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Businesses In Downtown Peterborough Responding To Opioid Crisis By Keeping Naloxone Kits On Hand

Businesses in downtown Peterborough are responding to the local opioid crisis by keeping Naloxone kits on hand and having staff trained on how to identify and respond to an opioid poisoning or overdose.

The Downtown Business Improvement Area is partnering with Peterborough Public Health and Harm Reduction Works @ PARN to provide Naloxone kits at no-cost to a number of strategically located downtown businesses. Naloxone is a safe lifesaving medication that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, buying time for a person to get the necessary medical attention they may need.

Photo of Naloxone kit courtesy DBIA

“We’re in the midst of an opioid crisis in Peterborough,” says Terry Guiel, DBIA Executive Director. “We see first-hand people struggling with addiction and sadly, we’ve already lost too many members of our community. If helping local businesses know what to do when they see an opioid poisoning saves one life, it’s worth it.”

“We know that people working downtown are experiencing the impact of the opioid crisis on a daily basis and want to do what they can to help,” adds Kim Dolan, Executive Director at PARN. “This initiative increases our collective response to opioid poisonings in our community and sends a strong message that people in Peterborough are prepared to step up and save lives.”

“This program reflects the caring attitude of the local business community towards people with addictions and the growing awareness that this issue affects us all,” says Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health at Peterborough Public Health. “In some ways, this demonstration of compassion is just as effective as the Naloxone itself because it reduces the terrible stigma faced by people who struggle with addictions.”

Photo of Naloxone kit courtesy DBIA

NALOXONE TRAINING SESSIONS AT VENTURE NORTH

-> Peterborough Public Health and PARN will be providing brief training sessions along with the free kits in the front lobby of Venture North at 270 George Street North on June 27th and 28th from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and July 4th and 5th from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

**Stickers will be available for any business that would like to display one in their window to let people know they are trained on how to respond to an opioid poisoning.

"Having been in business for 43 years downtown, we see a crisis at the moment with overdoses and addiction and we feel we need to help the community and those in need of help anyway we can,” adds Andrew Damiany, manager of Gentry Apparel.

As well as DBIA members, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is inviting its members to be trained and equipped with Naloxone kits. The kits are being provided by the DBIA, PARN, Peterborough Public Health and the City of Peterborough

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