Substance Use Health at CU

Substance Use Health at CU

Welcome back, Ravens! With the fall term in full swing, Wellness Services and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) are excited to welcome you all back to our lovely campus!

It is a time of many new experiences and opportunities for you to seek out and connect with peers! With so much going on, Wellness Services thought it was important to share some information about the Umbrella Project substance use health and harm reduction strategies and some supports that might be helpful to you!

At Carleton, we embrace the concept of substance use health. Much like mental health, your relationship with substances can impact and is impacted by other factors of your physical, social and mental wellness. Being mindful about the choices we make around using substances can help lead to better overall wellness and reduce risk of harm.

Harm reduction is one way we can achieve this. It is an umbrella term for measures, practices and approaches that aim to reduce the harms to persons, families and communities caused by substance use. Harm reduction can also be seen in more everyday activities like wearing a seat belt, bike helmet or applying sunscreen before a day at the beach. It involves being aware of the risks our actions might have and taking steps to be safer. When we talk about substance use, harm reduction can look like making sure to stay hydrated, avoiding using substances alone or making sure to start slow when using a substance for the first time.

For more info about substance use health, the Umbrella Project, and some easy to implement harm reduction strategies please visit the Mental Health and Wellness website.

Next, Wellness Services wishes to share two important resources on campus for students questioning or struggling to maintain positive substance use health.

All People All Pathways (APAP) are weekly peer support meetings specifically for students on Thursday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom. These meetings are facilitated by volunteers with personal experience with substance use and addiction. APAP is drop in, confidential and does not require abstinence to participate. It is open to folks who may be questioning their use, looking to make a change or experiencing problematic use. It is also open to people supporting a friend or family member with substance use challenges and provides a non-judgmental, safe environment for those seeking help to ask questions, free from stigma, alienation or discrimination.

It is also important to highlight the overdose prevention efforts here on campus. Concentrated forms of opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil have been found in the Ottawa drug supply, and overdoses can be deadly. Naloxone is a potentially life saving intervention that is low risk and can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Carleton has partnered with NaloxoneCare to offer five virtual naloxone training sessions to students and staff, after which participants can receive a certificate to collect a naloxone kit from the Prescription Shop pharmacy on campus.

For more information about Carleton’s overdoes prevention efforts, including the location of naloxone emergency boxes on campus please visit the opioid information page.

Keep an eye out on the Current Students website and @CarletonWellness on Instagram for more tips, resources and information on the first Party Safe Fair of the term on Thursday, October 3, 2024!

Thursday, September 12, 2024 in 360, Campus Life, CU Parents, News, Wellness
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