Reducing Harms
Despite a declaration of a public health emergency in 2016, over 11,000 people have died from the toxic drug poisoning crisis in BC alone – averaging six deaths per day – deaths that were, and are, preventable.
We’re raising funds to advance concrete soutions to the toxic drug poisioning crisis. Gifts to the Reducing Harms Priority will support projects that address putting an end to the toxic drug poisioning crisis in BC, and that save lives.
Our Harm Reduction Program supports peers working in community, harm reduction strategies, overdose response programs and priorities, and public education and advocacy around stigma, substance use, and evidence-based solutions.
A gift to this program will be directed to the most pressing solution as indicated by our harm reduction experts in community.
Addressing Threats
The COVID-19 pandemic has had vast and lasting impacts on us all and has greatly exacerbated existing inequities for those already made vulnerable due to systemic barriers. It has shown us where we need to provide better, stronger public health solutions.
We’re raising funds to support pandemic recovery in BC, address the societal consequences of the pandemic, and protect everyone in BC as we begin to live safely and thoughtfully with the current state.
Our campaign Your Health, Our Commitment is about supporting pandemic recovery, strengthening BC’s public health system, mobilizing public health research findings, and identifying and delivering long-term solutions to address systemic inequities.
A gift to this campaign will be directed to the most pressing solution as indicated by our public health experts in BC.
Promoting Health
Test, Link, Call (TLC) is an innovative outreach and peer support program focused on increasing access to testing and treatment for hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among people who experience criminalization due to incarceration, substance use, or being unstably housed. TLC provides real-world solutions to the current global health threats of HBV/HCV and HIV, which are associated with significant mortality rates worldwide.
TLC participants are given a cell phone with a 6-month pre-paid plan, and access to a peer navigator (person with lived experience) who provides support on how to access care and treatment. A phone is a key tool, and a huge barrier, for participants because accessing services is difficult—if not impossible—without a phone. Peer support helps to create a community of trust and fosters engagement with additional support for substance use, mental health, and other barriers associated with social and cultural determinants.
TLC is a living example of providing equitable healthcare options that serve the people who most need them, at a grassroots community level. During the project trial, which focused initially on HCV alone, the team saw an uptake among participants that was twice higher than the current HCV continuum of care in BC, with an 81% treatment uptake amongst the population.
Now, more than ever, projects like TLC need investment. Your donation will enhance lives, foster positive social change, and help to advance equitable solutions for underserved populations across BC.
Driving Innovation
Our Driving Innovation Fund provides flexible and broad funding for growth,
innovation, and development of new ideas and initiatives. It supports the awareness-raising and public education of what public health really is, how it’s important to you and your loved ones, and provides general support for all areas of public health.
By supporting the Driving Innovation Fund, we can direct your gift to the area of greatest need.
If you want to learn more about our priorities, campaigns, and projects, please contact us at (604) 707–2490
What We Have Funded
See examples of the public health work, innovations, and solutions that we’ve funded in the past.
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We acknowledge and show gratitude that we are able to work, live, and play on the traditional and unceded lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lo and SəÌílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, and that our work humbly extends to all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people across what we call British Columbia. We make our commitment to continue on our path of learning and reconciliation and where welcomed to do so, to work with communities to support undoing inequities that have harmed and continue to harm Indigenous people across the stolen and colonized lands of Turtle Island, or what we now call Canada.