Section: 35 of 38
Harm reduction approaches to address substance use and potentially harmful behaviours can be beneficial for a vulnerable population such as the post-secondary demographic. It champions students right for self-determination and minimize harms in a reliable manner. It can also provide an opportunity for trust and judgement free allyship to those struggling to reach out for support. While this toolkit is not exhaustive, we hope that it has shed some light on some topics that may be relevant to student mental health and wellbeing on campus. We have summarized key recommendations from the toolkit below.
Key Recommendations
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Adopt a whole campus approach when educating, creating programs, and implementing policies related to harm reduction. |
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Ensure harm reduction practices are informed with an EDIAA, trauma-informed, culturally safe and anti-oppressive lenses. |
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Embed harm reduction principles within different levels of services and stages of student life to prevent harms, support students experiencing harms, and care for students after harmful experiences. |
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Center student voices and work in collaboration when determining the supports they would like to see. |
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Create partnerships with community organizations and utilize their services to build capacity when supporting students. |
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Deliver health promotion and education on prevention, destigmatization, and reducing harms with substance use. |
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Provide programs, supplies, and initiatives that are easy to access and anonymous for students. |
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Encourage a culture of community and safety on campus where students look out for each other. |
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Provide safe and confidential ways to report potentially harmful or stigmatized behaviours without fear of repercussions. |
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Invest in peer-led support, recovery, and harm reduction programs that are located on-campus. |
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Harm reduction approaches around sexual health, sex work and compulsive sexual behaviour must be rooted in non-judgmental lenses, free of ideologies and moralities. |
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In the context of NSSI (self-harm or eating disorders), harm reduction approaches must be utilized in conjunction to supports provided by mental health professionals. |
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Reducing harms for behavioural addictions often may include creating productive routines, boundaries, financial literacy, and finding alternatives. |
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There is a strong need for specific campus programs and initiatives to educate and support students pertaining to behavioural addictions and NSSI. |
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Harm reduction practices can be utilized in the prevention of harmful behaviours, minimize harms when partaking in a potentially harmful behaviour, and care after a harmful outcome. |
