This presentation will share experiences and evaluation findings from South Riverdale Community Health Centre’s innovative Peer Training & Apprenticeship Program for Harm Reduction workers. The goal of this project is to provide comprehensive and supportive training for people who use drugs to become harm reduction workers at health and social service agencies. The 16-week training program covers a wide range of training needs from overdose prevention and response to community advocacy and drug users’ liberation, followed by a paid six-month apprenticeship placement at a community agency. People with complex health and social needs are encouraged to apply for the program which strives to be ‘no-barrier’ and client-centered.
This presentation will provide an overview of the training model and share outcomes, key components and lessons learned from four recent training cohorts. The presentation will be facilitated by the project coordinators and will include a recent program graduate.
Presented at the 2023 HSJCC Virtual Conference on November 16, 2023.
Presenters:
Stephanie Moulton
(She/Her)
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
Emma Beer
(She/Her)
HEALTH PROMOTER- HRW TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIP PROJECT
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
