Addiction prevention, support and treatment is the focus of Lethbridge College’s “The Opposite of Addiction is Connection Health Resource Fair” on Wednesday at the college. Part of national Addictions Awareness Week, the fair will bring in 10 external community agencies to join six on-campus groups to provide information to students and community members about topics such as harm reduction, prevention, treatment, supports and more.
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it is connection,” says Kara-Lyn Fredrickson, Addictions Counselling fourth year practicum student and event organizer. “That is really want we want to focus on for this resource fair, how we have many groups both at the college and in the community that are working in a variety of ways to tackle addiction at its root causes, with an emphasis on prevention instead of just on treatment.”
Lethbridge College is committed to promoting an inclusive healthy learning and work environment that nurtures the health and well-being of all students and employees. The fair includes displays from community agencies and on-campus supports, as well as breakout sessions that focus on issues important to all of southern Alberta.
From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., displays will be set up in Centre Core, giving visitors the chance to learn more about what southern Alberta and the college have to offer for addictions services. Breakout sessions include:
- Doggy De-stress – 10:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. in TE1228. This is a chance to interact with puppies volunteered by college employees. Animal assisted therapy is a growing field with many benefits.
- Overdose prevention and naloxone training – noon to 1 p.m. in TE1228. This training provided by ARCHES will give participants the skills needed to identify an opioid overdose and respond in an emergency situation.
- Supervised consumption site community meeting – 3 to 4 p.m. in TE1228. ARCHES will be hosting an information session about the supervised consumption site that will be coming to Lethbridge.
Lethbridge College has benefitted from many community partnerships, including hosting ARCHES overdose prevention and naloxone training sessions. These partnerships have allowed hundreds of employees and students to receive training as the opioid crisis continues to grow across the province.
The focus on addictions aligns with the college’s pledge to provide mental health resources to students, a commitment which was bolstered by the province’s recent $220,000 annual investment in mental health funding.
“We are fortunate to have such involved and passionate community partners,” says Harmoni Jones, Lethbridge College Health Promotion coordinator. “They help to ensure that events like this are possible. This is a way to strengthen those partnerships even further, which will help to make our community stronger.”
Partners attending “The Opposite of Addiction is Connection Health Resource Fair” include: ACT Medical Centres, Alberta Health Services, ARCHES, Canadian Blood Services, McMan, Safe 2 Party, South Alberta FASD Network, South Country Treatment Centre, Streets Alive Mission and YWCA Lethbridge and District.
Media are invited to attend the resource fair to speak to college and community partner representatives. Call Paul Kingsmith to arrange an interview time.