May 2024 Board of Health Meeting - Windsor Essex Community Opioid and Substance Use Strategy 2023 Information Report

PREPARED BY:

Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention

DATE:

2024-05-16

SUBJECT:

Windsor Essex Community Opioid and Substance Use Strategy 2023

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) is a collaboration of over 40 community partners and individuals with lived experience brought together to address the drug poisoning crisis. As the backbone agency, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is responsible for coordinating the Strategy, monitoring local data for trends in substance use events, supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of projects, and building sustainable communication channels to disseminate evidence-based information to the public. Utilizing a four-pillar approach, the WECOSS works to address the harms of substance use at the community level through Prevention and Education, Harm Reduction, Treatment and Recovery, and Enforcement and Justice interventions.

DISCUSSION

Each of the four WECOSS pillars develops and implements at least one project a year, in addition to the ongoing work from previous year’s initiatives. These are captured in the WECOSS Annual Reports. The 2023 WECOSS highlights were as follows: 

Opioid and Substance Use Notification System (OSUNS)

The OSUNS monitors real-time trends in local data to identify spikes in opioid and other substance use-related events across Windsor-Essex County. An evaluation of the OSUNS was conducted which engaged 31 WECOSS members in a survey.

• 90% agree that the alerts increase their awareness of local substance use trends.
• 87% find the information in the alerts relevant to local needs.
• 71% use the alerts within the context of their work.

The recommendations for improvement included:

• More real-time monitoring
• Linking community substance programs to the alerts
• Expanding the knowledge of the public regarding the OSUNS

Enforcement and Justice

• 21 service providers surveyed to identify educational needs regarding substance use.
• Findings will be used to develop tailored workshops for service providers, corrections officers, and post-secondary students.

Treatment and Recovery 

• Online inventory of 187 substance use and mental health programs and services developed.
• Pilot testing and public launch in 2024 planned to assist residents to find and access services that best meet their needs. 

Prevention and Education

• 17+ lbs of unused/expired medication collected at medicine take-back event and brought to the pharmacy for safe disposal.
• Development of a community partner communications toolkit with integration of alcohol and cannabis messaging developed for distribution in 2024. The toolkit includes key messages and a dissemination plan to heighten the profile of the WECOSS strategy and increase recognition of its role in the community.

Harm Reduction

• Through the Needle Syringe Program delivered by Pozitive Pathways Community Services (PPCS) there were:
  • 20,870 client transactions across 4 NSP sites and mobile delivery programs.
  • 533,844 needles distributed.
• Promotion of SafePoint Safer Consumption Site including outreach to clients, community engagement, and mitigation strategy development to address needs of clients following pause in operations.

Substance Supports in Neighbourhoods Accessed Through Police Partnerships (SSNAPP)

In 2023, the Enforcement and Justice Working Group welcomed the Substance Supports in Neighbourhoods Accessed Through Police Partnerships (SSNAPP) initiative, led by the Windsor Police Service, the WECHU, and the City of Windsor. Aligned with the Windsor Essex Regional Community Safety and Well-Being Plan and the WECOSS, this initiative strengthened the ongoing efforts to address substance-related challenges within in our community, with the WECHU playing a crucial role in coordinating activities, offering public health expertise on substance use issues and related trends in our community, and supporting data collection and analysis efforts.

The impact of the SSNAPP initiative in 2023 is demonstrated through the following achievements: 

• Facilitated a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Workshop attended by 56 stakeholders representing 30 diverse social, health and business sectors.
  • 73% of survey respondents found the training highly relevant to their roles within the community.
• Supported Trauma Informed Training Sessions conducted by the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative (DWCC), for both clients and frontline health and social service providers.
  • Included 4 client sessions with a total of 57 participants.
    • 58% of survey respondents discovered a new support.
  • Included 10 service provider sessions with a total of 302 participants.
    • 83% of survey respondents felt more equipped to engage with individuals affected by complex trauma. 
• Supported Community Engagement Events organized by the DWCC in high-priority neighbourhoods. 
  • Included a total of 4 events with approximately 200 community members in attendance per event.
    • 82% of survey respondents gained a deeper understanding of available community resources. 
• Hosted two ‘De-Escalating Potentially Violent Situations’ Workshops in collaboration with the Crisis and Trauma Training Resource Institute, catering to frontline health and social service providers.
  • A total of 122 participants from 35 organizations.
    • 93% of survey respondents expressed satisfaction with the course’s learning objectives.

The attached Annual Report provides greater detail on the work of the WECOSS in 2023 and will be disseminated through the committee and publically through organization’s social media and websites.