In response to higher than average substance abuse, Grey Bruce is rolling out an updated strategic plan to reduce harm, improve local services, and support those affected by addiction.
Grey Bruce Community Safety Planning and Well Being Coordinator Alexis revealed The Community Drug and Alcohol Strategy's key priorities include enhancing community safety, addressing the harmful effects of opioids, and improving access to culturally safe care.
"It's a collaborative approach with rural solutions as well," Cook explained. "The four or five priorities that have come up here are around enhancing community safety and reducing the harms of opioids as well as the poisonous, unregulated drug supply, reducing the harms associated with alcohol use, preventing and or delaying youth substance use, increasing access to inclusive, culturally safe and respectful care, support and services, and then really reducing stigma and its impacts through using evidence, informed education, training as well as communications out to the community."
Cook hopes education and outreach efforts will help address the root causes of substance use.
"From isolation, to lack of transportation options, to fear and stigma in the communities as well," she said. "But I think collaboratively, working together with various stakeholders and community members, that we can bring these numbers down to provincial averages"
Cook added current issues are complicating the situation.
"So with their financial situation, it's further strained by faltering mental health, housing, healthcare, our climate systems and the systematic issues, have really left community members vulnerable to harmful substance use," she continued. "As well, an increasingly toxic, unregulated drug supply, means a greater risk of drug poisoning, hypoxic brain injury, as well as death to community members."
The updated Community Drug and Alcohol Strategy brings together various organizations to address the root causes of substance use and improve local services.
"So through this new strategic plan of the community drug and alcohol strategy, it really helps organizations focus on their core functions," she expanded. "So, aligning their resources and partnership structures, as well as strengthening their capacity to address community priorities related to substance use, and use that to guide our decision making through local evidence informed initiatives."
Since its launch, the strategy has helped strengthen community partnerships with local organizations 14th Street, Keystone Mental Health Services for Youth, Bruce County Outreach, and the SOS program. It also led to the creation of services like the Brightshores Wellness and Recovery Centre.
Cook revealed that addiction and substance abuse can happen in all walks of life.
"Anyone can use drugs," she pointed out. "Anyone can be a person who uses drugs. It has no discrimination based on age, based on gender, sexual orientation. Anyone can be at risk."
Cook said Alcohol remains the most commonly used substance in Grey Bruce, with 22 per cent of residents drinking heavily on a regular basis.
"It contributes to an estimated 73 deaths, 357 hospitalizations, and just over 3500 emergency department visits and people over the age of 15 in our region on an annual basis," she explained.
Opioid use continues to climb, with opioid-related deaths increasing by 457 per cent from 2018 to 2021.
"Just in 2023 we saw 34 opioid related deaths," Cook explained. "And as mentioned previously, we have seen 163 suspected opioid overdose just this year, from January to September."
Local health officials are especially worried about the influx of potent, unregulated drugs like fentanyl mixed with xylazine, a sedative, making overdoses even more dangerous. Recent tests noted xylazine in a local fentanyl sample.
Smoking rates in the region are also worrisome, with about 20.7 per cent of the population using tobacco.
"Which was actually more than double the provincial average of 10.1 per cent," Cook continued. "So for people aged 35 and older, smoking has been attributed to outcomes that have made up 18.6 per cent of deaths, 8.9 per cent of hospitalizations and 4.4 per cent of emergency departments every single year.
Cannabis is also sending people to hospital in the two counties.
"So back in 2022 Grey-Bruce saw 225 emergency department visits for cannabis related harms," she outlined. "So approximately 151.4 per 100,000 people, which is significantly higher than our provincial average that sits at 92.7 per 100,000 people. And recent studies have also shown that more youth are using cannabis at younger ages as well, too."
