After more than a year and a half of dormancy, the Sunshine Coast Community Action Team (CAT) is back in action.
After hiring a program lead in February and a pair of peer coordinators just a couple of weeks ago, the organization dedicated to addressing the toxic drug crisis through community collaboration is ready for its re-launch open house, June 24.
CAT has a mandate to provide “education, support, and interventions to meet community needs, guided by those with lived experience of substance use.”
While it was initially formed in 2018-2019, the loss of steering committee oversight, the loss of a local fiscal agent and other issues led to CAT effectively dissolving in summer 2023.
Now, Sunshine Coast Resource Centre has taken on the role of fiscal agent and a CAT steering committee with 14 representatives from 10 organizations has been struck. Organizations include Pender Harbour Health Centre, Sunshine Coast Community Services, District of Sechelt, Town of Gibsons, Vancouver Coastal Health, i2iPeer Support, RainCity Housing, Sunshine Coast Resource Centre and Arrowhead Clubhouse.
“All the main players are involved,” says Brian Mackenzie of i2i Peer Support and member of the steering committee.
CAT is working on looking at how to support people who use drugs and ensure their voices are heard.
The two peer coordinators come from different backgrounds but both have lived experience. “So we're excited to see how they collaborate to start rolling out programs,” says Mackenzie.
Though no programs are under way yet, the ones with the potential to return include the popular gardening program and Street Degree. Increasing hands-on programming, addressing barriers and ending stigma, also number among the organization's priorities.
Mackenzie also notes, “The majority of people who use drugs do not have addiction issues and they are still susceptible to overdose and death and other [injuries],” he says. “We're not just serving people with opiate use disorder. Anybody who's either curious about or actively engaged in altering their consciousness with illicit substances is at risk of obtaining a tainted source.”
Since a public health emergency was declared in 2016, more than 70 people have died of toxic drugs on the Sunshine Coast.
CAT itself is open to people and organizations affected by the toxic drug crisis or wishing to collaborate on addressing the crisis. “That's really what the open house is about, in a sense, is we're wanting to recruit additional participants in the Community Action Team,” says Mackenzie.
The community is invited to the CAT open house, June 24, noon to 3 p.m. at Seaside Centre. There will be games, music, food and speakers.
