Langford students that promoted harm reduction education and training at Belmont Secondary School have been awarded the Youth Harm Reduction Award.
They were officially recognized by Island Health because of the team’s innovation and dedication. The team is made up of Belmont students Jaden Lee, Kai Lessard, Samantha Paluch and Matthew O’Connell.
“Wellness promotion, education and prevention can stop small problems from becoming bigger down the road, while reduction measures can save lives, reduce the risk of drug poisonings and connect people to lifesaving supports,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside. “Congratulations to the winners of the Youth Harm Reduction Award. The leadership you’ve demonstrated will go a long way in helping your peers access the supports they and help us tackle the toxic drug crisis.”
In the spring of 2022, the team surveyed 155 Belmont students as part of a naloxone training event. The goal of the survey was to examine their peers’ awareness of substance use, and find out what they needed to advance harm reduction efforts.
According to Island Health, harm reduction aims to reduce negative health, social and legal impacts associated with a range of activities. The most common and widely accepted practices to prevent harm include the use of seat belts, bike helmets, condoms, speed limits and sunscreen. Regarding the drug crisis, harm reduction often refers to safer ways to consume substances, safer substance use supplies and the use of naloxone to reduce the effects of drug poisonings from opioids.
“We’re thrilled to offer this award to these Belmont Secondary students for their tremendous dedication, creativity and work to offer their peers naloxone training and harm reduction education,” said manager of substance use and harm reduction at Island Health, Jessica Huston. “The momentum of the youth action team continues to have positive ripple effects, including interest from other school districts for their training.”
A short video produced by the team of students highlighting the project has been shared with staff from School District 62 and the community. The school district was able to get federal funding to incorporate substance use education into the curriculum this fall after they used supportive data from the team’s video.
“It was really surprising for us to know that lots of people felt like the community needed more education regarding substance use,” said Lee. “Many didn’t know where to access the resources.”
“Substance use should be talked about more, especially to young folks,” Paluch said. “It’s important to know these things. There are always going to be people affected by drugs and opioids, and if they are going to take them they should at least know how to do it safely.”
The team continues to further its efforts this most recent spring as they held naloxone training days at three secondary schools.
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