Government of Canada to support projects aimed at helping prevent and decrease substance use-related harms among young people

Public Health Agency of Canada launches national call for proposals under new youth substance use prevention program

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Communities across the country have been touched by the unrelenting and tragic toxic drug and overdose crisis. Many young people across Canada continue to face challenges with substance use. The Government of Canada continues to take urgent action to help save lives and prevent harms from the toxic illegal drug supply as we work towards an end to this national public health crisis.

Today, the Honourable Ya'ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced the launch of an open call for proposals under the Public Health Agency of Canada's new Youth Substance Use Prevention Program focused on supporting communities to build capacity to implement and adapt the Icelandic Prevention Model. This Model, which is recognized internationally for its collaborative approach to preventing substance use harms among youth, is based on the fundamental principle that the whole community needs to be involved in order to impact youth behaviours.

The deadline for organizations to submit applications is January 15, 2024. Organizations working closely with schools, or those serving youth populations disproportionately impacted by substance use-related harms, are encouraged to apply for funding. The Youth Substance Use Prevention Program is just one of the steps the Government of Canada is taking as part of a full continuum of care to help address the illegal toxic drug supply and overdose crisis.

Minister Saks announced the launch during her participation in the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction's Issues of Substance conference. Minister Saks took the opportunity to mark National Addictions Awareness Week and highlight recent federal actions to help address the crisis, including the renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy.

The Government of Canada will continue to work with all levels of government, partners, Indigenous communities, stakeholders, people with lived and living experience, and organizations in communities across the country to save lives and reduce substance use related harms.

"Young people across Canada are facing a mental health and substance use crisis and it's crucial that they receive the supports that are most relevant to them, whenever and wherever they need it. I am grateful for all the work frontline organizations do to help reduce substance use harms, and I encourage them to learn more about the Icelandic Prevention Model as a new and collaborative approach they could take to address the factors that make youth more likely to experience harms related to substances."

The Honourable Ya'ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

• The Government of Canada has committed over $1 billion since 2017 to increase access to evidence-based treatment and harm reduction services; fund awareness, prevention, and stigma reduction activities; and support research and surveillance initiatives to inform our response.
• In Budget 2023, the Government of Canada committed $359.2 million over 5 years to support a renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which included $20.2 million over five years to the Public Health Agency of Canada for a new community-based program to prevent substance use and its related harms among young people.
• Studies of the Icelandic Prevention Model have shown a decline in youth substance use. Over an 11 year period (1995-2006), studies show that in Iceland:
  • The proportion of adolescents who reported daily smoking went from 23% to 12%;
  • The proportion of adolescents who reported having become intoxicated once or more often during the last 30 days went from 42% to 25%; and
  • The proportion of adolescents who reported having ever used cannabis went from 17% to 9%.¹

• Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy
• Opioid and stimulant related harms in Canada
• Get Help with Substance Use
• Stigma around drug use
• Federal actions on opioids to date

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SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada