About Harm Reduction Toolkit
How to use This Toolkit
This toolkit is intended for campus staff, faculty, and administrators who would like to know more about harm reduction approaches, the realms that it can be applied to, and specific practices for specific instances on post-secondary institutions.
The goal of this toolkit is to provide awareness, education, and recommendations to equip Ontario post-secondary campuses when it comes to supporting students who may be engaging in high-risk behaviours.
We recommend using this toolkit in a way that makes sense for the reader’s needs. If you’re looking for a specific topic, please use the landing page at campusmentalhealth.ca/toolkits/harm-reduction/ to select your topic of interest or browse the index. You’re welcome to print the full toolkit or any section you need. The reflection sheet with questions at the end of the toolkit is available for you to print if you would like to jot down any thoughts on the topics we have covered.
If you are interested in recommendations and campus spotlights, you will find them at the end of each section. Unfortunately, not all sections will have a campus spotlight. If you have any questions or feedback regarding these recommendations or campus spotlights, you can email the project lead Tarin Karunagoda at tkarunagoda@campusmenathealth.ca or info@campusmentalhealth.ca.
Disclaimer
This toolkit is not intended to be entirely comprehensive; rather, it offers an introduction for those who have little to no familiarity with harm reduction principles and/or practices. It is meant for educational purposes and does not intend to promote certain modalities over others. This toolkit is not intended to admonish or judge higher-risk behaviours or put certain harm reduction practices above others.
The authors have attempted to ensure most practices and research are within the relevant contexts but would like to acknowledge that the vast literature related to harm reduction tends to focus on substance use.
We want to also acknowledge that this toolkit uses research largely based on Eurocentric and Western worldviews. There are important cross-cultural discussions related to the application of harm reduction that are beyond the scope of this toolkit but merit further attention and reflection.
Positionality
This toolkit was created in collaborations with professionals and experts who have backgrounds in mental health, addictions and/or post-secondary sectors. The project lead, Tarin Karunagoda brings educational and professional perspectives on the neuroscience of addictions, post-secondary and youth mental health and harm reduction work within university settings.
Acknowledgements
This toolkit would not have been possible without the knowledge and contributions from our collaborators. Special acknowledgements to Nik Carverhill (Substance Use and Addictions Policy Lead) and Benjamin Bongolan (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Anti Racism (EDIAA) Lead) at CMHA Ontario for their invaluable insight.
Authors and Contributors:
- Amanda Bagri
- Benjamin Bongolan
- Charlotte Booth
- Heather Uchman
- James Racine
- Nik Carverhill
- Sydney Bennell
We are also grateful to the many campus and community members that informed us the needs of the toolkit via the toolkit needs survey and interviews. Special thanks to:
- Annick Evraire
- Ben Bridgstock
- Cecilia Amoakohene
- Dillon Brady
- Jessica Arteaga
- Josée Joliat
- Julia Goldsteins
- Madeline Derby
- Megan Francoeur
- Sarah Hafez
- Sudha Sabanadesan
“Not only is it important to remind people that harm reduction is everything from wearing a seatbelt to offering supervised consumption sites, but research also shows that harm reduction often produces the strongest positive social and health outcomes both for individuals who use the services and for the communities they live in.”
