Keenan Research Centre - Research Programs

Centre for Research on Inner City Health - Education

Toronto Drug Strategy Secretariat, Toronto Public Health, City of Toronto

44 Victoria Street, 18th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 1Y2

www.toronto.ca/health/drugstrategy

 

Name & Title of Main Contact Person for ACHIEVE:

Susan Shepherd, Manager, Toronto Drug Strategy Secretariat

sshephe1@toronto.ca

Phone: 416-338-0923

 

The Toronto Drug Strategy Secretariat provides policy and administration support to implement the City of Toronto’s municipal strategy for alcohol and other drugs.  The drug strategy implementation process is grounded in a collaborative, intersectoral approach that includes municipal politicians, municipal departments, institutions (e.g., CAMH, police), community-based services sector, and people who use alcohol and other drugs.

 

The Toronto Drug Strategy (TDS) provides a comprehensive approach to alcohol and other drugs based on the integrated components of prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement.  The TDS takes a population health approach regarding the spectrum of drug use ranging from beneficial use to chronic dependence. The strategy is grounded in a social determinants of health framework, and is built on public health and human rights principles.

 

While the TDS is broad in scope, there is a focus on strategies aimed at reducing health inequities, in particular for people who use drugs and who are homeless or otherwise street-involved.  Areas of interest include but are not limited to the following:

  • reducing barriers to accessing health and social services (e.g., addressing stigma and discrimination experienced by people who use drugs, which prevents them from accessing services and supports they are entitled to receive); 
  • responding to service gaps (e.g., need for 24-hour crisis support for people who are actively using drugs);
  • building evidence to inform advocacy with other governments to address health inequities; and,
  • evaluating collaborative processes/initiatives related to implementation of the Toronto Drug Strategy.