Karen created a video called This is Addiction which depicted 184 drawings of people impacted by addiction. They are of children, parents, and people who are suffering from addiction and those impacted by others who are addicted. I created this because I kept seeing that this picture was missing from most of the conferences I attended. When we do not look at all aspects of the problem then we fail to get the solution right. When we hide the real impact then are we really being honest? Why are we hiding this? Why did Harm Reduction become the treatment of choice?
Presenter:
Karen James | Lived Experience
I am a person with lived experience of addiction and mental health. I also grew up in an addicted home. I worked in a workplace where addiction was very prevalent. I went to treatment and recovered from my addiction. I became an addiction counsellor and worked with adults, with family members, with school students struggling with use and with people dealing with the courts in a drug court program. Many people I worked with also struggled with mental health issues. I worked in the field for 27 years and I left when I felt that it was no longer possible to bring about positive outcomes. I am in the process of publishing a book called Dealing Addiction How the Canadian Government Derailed Addiction Recovery. I self-published a memoir, One Day I Stepped Back Into Myself.
Presented by the Provincial Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee on November 4, 2025.