Youth and Family Engagement for Substance Use Prevention

WECOSS Modernization Alignment: Addressing the social determinants that impact substance use and community well-being.

Project Summary: The WECOSS Prevention and Education Working Group focused on strengthening community capacity and enhancing education related to youth and family substance use prevention. In 2025, the group delivered seven workshops for youth and parents or caregivers on navigating youth substance use. Workshop topics ranged from the patterns and effects of youth substance use (e.g., alcohol, cannabis, tobacco/vaping, other substance use), recognizing and supporting youth who may be using substances, and where to find help. Workshops were offered to elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students, as well as parent and youth groups and community organizations serving families. 

In addition, partners attended 12 community events, including health fairs and school readiness events, to share prevention information and resources with youth and families. A social media campaign was also launched through WECHU channels to promote youth and family substance use prevention messages.

Outputs and Results: 

• 94% (140/149) of evaluation respondents from the workshops and events reported improved awareness of the youth substance use prevention topics presented. 
• 10 social media messages were released on WECHU channels with youth and family substance use prevention information, which generated a total of 45,164 reaches on Facebook.

Next Steps: The WECOSS Action Plan for 2026 – 2030 will continue to prioritize youth substance use prevention. To advance this priority, a new project will be launched in 2026, which will actively engage youth in the development of a wellness education program aimed at preventing youth substance use. By meaningfully involving youth in all stages of development, this program will help to ensure that prevention tools and resources are relevant, accessible, and responsive to the real-world needs of young people in Windsor-Essex County. 

Building Community for Harm Reduction – Anti-Stigma Programming 

WECOSS Modernization Alignment: Augment harm reduction services and supplies through coordinated agency involvement and policy supports.

Project Summary: As part of ongoing efforts to reduce substance use stigma, the WECOSS Harm Reduction Working Group implemented an evidence-based anti-stigma initiative consisting of several activities.

Firstly, an Anti-Stigma Policy Template was created to provide organizations with a set of standardized procedures and practices that can be used to foster inclusive, person-centered, and stigma-free service environments for people who use substances. To support organizations in adopting the policy template, two e-learning modules were also created. The first module was targeted at all staff at community organizations and introduced stigma concepts, use of non-stigmatizing language, and staff roles in fostering stigma-free service environments. The second module was targeted at policy leads at community organizations (e.g., leaders, managers, human resource representatives) and provided an overview of guiding strategies to support implementation of the policy. 

To launch the policy template and modules to community partners, a policy implementation workshop was offered in the Fall of 2025. The workshop was targeted at policy leads at organizations and included anti-stigma education, an overview of the policy template and modules, and guidance on policy implementation. 

To support public understanding and supportive attitudes towards these topics, a public-facing educational campaign was also launched on the WECHU’s social media channels with anti-stigma messaging. Campaign messages promoted empathy, compassion, and respect for those who use substances. These messages were guided by the perspectives of those involved with the WECHU’s Substance Use PAC.

Outputs and Results: 

• 16 community agencies reported intent to implement or to recommend the implementation of the policy template in their service setting.
• 1 community agency formally implemented the policy template in 2025 (WECHU). 
• Of those who attended the policy implementation workshop and completed the evaluation:  
  • 96.8% (30/31) reported that they felt more equipped to integrate stigma-reducing policies into their daily work. 
  • 90.3% (28/31) reported that they felt more confident responding to stigma if they encountered it in their professional or personal life. 
• 8 social media messages were released on the WECHU’s channels with anti-stigma information, which generated a total of 42,023 reaches.

Next Steps: In 2026, the WECOSS will continue to collaborate with community agencies to support implementation of the Anti-Stigma Policy within their service environments. The new Action Plan will also focus on reducing stigma by creating safe and meaningful platforms for PWLLE to share their stories and perspectives on substance use, fostering greater understanding, dignity, and inclusion for people who use substances.

ONGOING WORK  

Needle Syringe Program: Pozitive Pathways Community Services (PPCS) and its satellite sites continued to operate the local Needle Syringe Program to distribute harm reduction supplies and education to people who use substances. Key highlights from 2025 were as follows: 

• 33,976 client transactions were recorded.
• 93,498 harm reduction supplies were distributed. 
• Approximately 25,313 needles were returned. 
• 57 referrals were made to other community services. 

Ontario Naloxone Program (ONP): The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s Ontario Naloxone Program continued to operate to provide eligible community agencies with naloxone supplies and training to distribute to their clients who use substances, as well as their friends and family. Outputs and results from 2025 were as follows: 

• 32 community partners were actively involved with the ONP, 2 of which were newly onboarded in 2025. 
• 4,964 naloxone kits and individual naloxone doses were distributed by community partners involved with the ONP.
• 2,132 individuals were trained on naloxone administration by ONP partners. 

Expanding Access to Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT)

WECOSS Modernization Alignment: “No Wrong Door” – Enhancing access to services and supports.

Project Summary: In 2025, the WECOSS Treatment and Recovery Working Group focused on improving frontline capacity to support client access of Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT). A needs assessment survey was issued to frontline service providers to better understand their knowledge gaps and learning needs related to OAT. These findings informed the development of tailored training materials and resources for both frontline service providers and the clients they support. 

 A Lunch and Learn webinar, entitled “Opening Doors to Recovery – Frontline Approaches to Support Access to OAT”, was delivered in the Fall of 2025, providing frontline providers with tools and resources to understand OAT treatments, initiate conversations with clients about OAT, and support connections to OAT options in the community. To ensure that learning tools remained readily available beyond the webinar, three additional resources were also created and shared widely amongst community partners: 

• Opioid Agonist Therapy Booklet – Education and Practice Guide for Frontline Service Providers 
• Opioid Agonist Therapy Brochure – Information for Clients with Opioid Use Disorder 
• A comprehensive listing of local OAT services was added to the WECOSS’ online inventory of substance use treatment, mental health, and behavioural addictions services (WEC Connect), further supporting effective referrals and service navigation. 

Output and Results: 

• 50 individuals attended the OAT Lunch and Learn webinar. 
• Of those who participated in the webinar evaluation: 
  • 90.9% (20/22) either strongly agreed or agreed that the webinar improved their awareness of OAT as a treatment option for opioid use disorder. 
  • 85.7% (18/21) either strongly agreed or agreed that the webinar enhanced their capacity to facilitate conversations with clients/patients about OAT.
  • 90.5% (19/21) either strongly agreed or agreed that the webinar enhanced their capacity to support connections and referrals to OAT options in the community. 
  • 95.2% (20/21) either strongly agreed or agreed that they intend to apply the concepts discussed during the webinar in their work with clients/patients.

Next Steps:  The OAT resources will remain available for ongoing use. Moving forward, the WECOSS will continue to promote these resources to community partners to support further capacity-building and informed, client-centered conversations about OAT. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

WEC CONNECT, the WECOSS’ online inventory of substance use, mental health, and behavioural addictions services, highlights supports across Windsor-Essex County. As part of an ongoing WECOSS initiative, the WECHU continued with its regular updates to WEC Connect, ensuring that its information remained current and accurate. Over the course of 2025, a total of 24 new listings were added to WEC Connect, supporting improved referral pathways to services in Windsor-Essex County.

Two campaigns were also undertaken to promote awareness and uptake of WEC Connect:

• An outreach campaign was conducted with 24 organizations, medical clinics, libraries, and pharmacies to provide in-service demonstrations and resources to their staff on WEC Connect. Of the outreach partners who participated in the demonstrations, 100% (31/31) felt that WEC Connect would benefit their clients and support better understanding of how to access substance use treatment and prevention services in Windsor-Essex County.
• Over December 2025 to January 2026, an online and digital campaign was completed to increase engagement with WEC Connect over the holiday season. Key highlights from the campaign were as follows: 
  • 8 paid messages about WEC Connect were launched on Facebook and Instagram, generating a total of 132,627 reaches, 323,279 impressions, and 4,786 link clicks to WEC Connect. 
  • 23 advertisements about WEC Connect were released at convenience stores, buses and bus shelters, and over the radio. 
  • 5,273 web views amongst 4,191 active users were recorded on WEC Connect during the campaign period.

Strengthening Community Safety and Well-Being

WECOSS Modernization Alignment: Build a shared understanding of community safety and well-being by strengthening public safety and public health partnerships that support vulnerable and marginalized populations.

Project Summary: The WECOSS Enforcement and Justice Working Group focused on sustaining and expanding the efforts of the Substance Supports in Neighbourhoods Accessed through Police Partnerships (SSNAPP) Team. SSNAPP is a partnered initiative focused on improving community safety and well-being related to substance use. The program was first funded through a three-year Community Safety and Policing (CSP) grant that ended in March 2025, and a second grant was secured in September 2025 to continue the work until March 2026. 

During this second funding period, the group supported several key activities. Previously, SSNAPP had created neighbourhood safety plans for areas in Windsor with a higher risk of opioid overdose to help residents respond to concerns. In 2025, the group shared these plans with the community and helped residents understand how to use them by attending 21 community events. Two new safety plans were also created for high-risk areas in Essex County, specifically Leamington and Essex, based on input from residents and local organizations through a public survey (100 respondents) and four focus groups with community partners (23 participants). These plans were officially shared with the community at media events in February and March 2026.

In addition, six workshops were delivered for first responders and service providers in Essex County, covering topics such as trauma-informed care, substance use and mental health, self-care for helping professionals, managing potentially violent situations, and motivational interviewing.

Outputs and Results:

• In 2025, 816 print copies of the Windsor safety plans were distributed to community members and 399 were downloaded through the SSNAPP website.
  • Of those who received the Windsor safety plans and participated in the evaluation, 98.1% (368/375) reported that they felt more confident navigating safety situations in their community.
• As of early April 2026, 2,049 print copies of the Essex-County safety plans have been distributed to community members and 189 copies have been downloaded through the SSNAPP website. 
• Of those who attended the SSNAPP workshops and completed the evaluations, 97.8% (91/93) reported feeling confident that they could apply the skills and knowledge gained from the training provided. 

Next Steps: An evaluation plan will be developed to measure the effectiveness of the safety plans. These safety plans will continue to be used, with community events offering ongoing opportunities to educate residents about the plans.