Changes coming to Waterloo Region’s approach to drug strategy

A stock photo of illicit drugs. (Getty Images)

Changes are coming to how the Region of Waterloo handles its approach to illicit drugs.

The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS) has focused on substance abuse harm reduction for more than a decade, but now their funding stream from the region is drying up.

“Public health has funded, for many years, resources to the WRIDS in the form of funding to support an administrative role that would support the steering committee and the actions of the working groups,” said Rhonda Nicholls, director of strategy, performance and partnerships for Region of Waterloo Public Health.

Now, that funding will no longer be available at the end of this year.

“After that, public health staff and other system partners will continue all the impactful work that has really started to take shape over the last number of years,” Nicholls said.

She explained the funding that supported WRIDS will instead be directed to other community organizations also focused on tackling substance abuse issues.

In light of the funding decision, a steering committee has decided to sunset WRIDS.

“This was not an easy decision, but given much of the work within the Four Pillars of our drug strategy is happening at various tables and initiatives, the Steering Committee felt that everyone’s resources were best utilized in supporting this existing work,” a release from WRIDS explained on May 26.

WRIDS lists its four pillars as prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement.

“We know that the drug poisoning crisis continues to claim lives across our community, and we need to continue to work collaboratively to coordinate programs and strategies, share and advocate for resources, and put an end to this crisis,” the release said.

A call for support

Advocates say more work is needed at a provincial level to really get a grip on the ongoing issues.

“We have a public health policy, but the public health policy really isn’t working,” said Brice Balmer, former chair of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Task Force, which developed WRIDS. “It comes out of the province now instead of out of the region. It’s really not working at the systemic [level] that needs to go on with everybody working together.”

Balmer said it will take effort on all fronts to effectively address the pervasive problems.

“The work of the [Waterloo Region] Integrated Drug Strategy has actually minimized over the last six, seven, eight years. Even after we got the whole strategy together, everybody worked on it. But then it turned out to be maybe six or seven people that were working on the strategy, rather than bringing a whole group of people together to really look at how addiction impacted many agencies.”

He said the best way forward, is to work together.