There are many reasons why people do not or cannot seek the care they need when struggling with addiction. Stigma against people who use drugs or have addictions is prevalent and represents a significant barrier to accessing care. It both keeps people from reaching out when they need help and sometimes shapes their experiences with healthcare providers, who can perpetuate discriminatory attitudes.
The Pain of Stigma: Recognizing Stigma and its Impacts
by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSUA)
Racism, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, and other forms of discrimination—whether implicit or explicit—further limit the accessibility of many services, including harm reduction programs. As such, mental health services tend to have the lowest utilization rates among racialized students (Lipson et al., 2022; Wildey et al., 2024). As harm reduction work has become increasingly institutionalized, workers tend to be mostly white and programming lacks input from and representation of diverse communities. Peer-led programs that address the specific needs of particular groups (e.g., women’s drop-in, BIPOC support group) are one way of addressing these A belief, policy, practice, object, or environment that prevents or limits people’s access to opportunities, benefits, or advantages available to other members of society.Barriers
