Ottawa’s Plan to Promote Wellbeing and Reduce Harms from Substance Use

What is Ottawa's Plan?

Ottawa’s plan to prevent and respond effectively to overdose, while enhancing substance use health and wellbeing is multifaceted.

The foundation of the plan has been built using a public health approach, with an overarching protective factor of access to safe, supportive, and affordable housing. As a community we are utilizing innovative and comprehensive approaches to promote substance use health though these foundational pieces, the overarching protective factors and a seven-pillar framework.

The framework is intended to help prevent overdose related mortality, while also improving the lives of people living with substance use health related challenges.

Actions within the framework have been co-designed with partners, including people with lived and living experience. A number of guiding principles have been established in the creation of Ottawa’s plan:

Designing and implementing initiatives using best practices;
Ensuring people with lived and living experience and expertise are involved in all phases of the strategy;
Leveraging the expertise and experience of all partners in the co-design;
Adopting an evidence-based approach to continuously learn and improve;
Planning for sustainability from the start;
Ensuring that all aspects of the seven pillars are carried out.

Together, these elements have helped and will continue to help guide our actions to prevent overdoses and advance wellness and the substance use health needs of our community.

The image below outlines how we are approaching this complex situation to make tangible contributions to Overdose Prevention and Response:

Who is Involved?

To ensure a collective and impactful approach, OPH and other agencies are working closely with the Overdose Prevention Task Force (ODPTF), mental health, addictions, substance use health and social services advisory groups, and key partners.

Ottawa’s plan is intended to be inclusive and includes partnerships with a broad range of individuals, agencies and existing networks representing people with living experience and expertise, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers, visible minorities, women, 2SLGBTQI++ and equity deserving populations.

Collaboration between these networks allows us to monitor trends through data collection, surveillance, and qualitive input, as we try to meet the ever-evolving substance use health needs of the community.

We are in this together, it takes a community of partners and individuals with living experience to improve, promote and protect the health and wellness of our community.

Who is the Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force?

The Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force (ODPRTF) was founded in 2015 with the goal of uniting a diverse network of partners to prevent deaths resulting from the increasingly toxic drug supply. This goal continues to evolve and includes the need to prevent deaths, prevent harm from substance use and to promote substance use health.
The ODPRTF is comprised of individuals and organizations representing various sectors, including people with lived and living experience and expertise, community health, hospitals, pharmacies, emergency services (police, paramedics, and fire), mental health, addictions and substance use health service providers, the regional coroner’s office, and the Community and Social Services Department at the City of Ottawa, along with Ottawa Public Health.

What is OPH's Role?

OPH is an active member at many community led networks and is the convenor and backbone support to the Overdose Prevention and response Task Force (ODRTF). See some examples of immediate and ongoing actions.

How Did We Get Here?

The section below provides a timeline of some key milestones. The list is not comprehensive, and as we continue to build through the years, it is important to note that initiatives listed from previous years continue to evolve.

2015 - 2020

2015

Establishment of the Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force (ODRTF). This group brings together local and regional stakeholders to increase communication and collaboration to reduce unintended overdoses related to alcohol and drug use in Ottawa. The purpose of this group is to:

Share expertise and best practices in the field of prevention and harm reduction
Share information related to available programs and services
Collaborate on collection and dissemination of up-to-date surveillance data
Outreach to service providers
Collaborate on local initiatives

2017

In addition to the purposes listed above, the ODRTF developed the Opioid Cluster Response Protocol, which led to:

Enhanced local surveillance and monitoring of overdose data,
Guidance on enhancing Naloxone distribution in the community,
Creating a communications sub-group to further coordinate public messaging related to overdoses and to allow for rapid coordinated emergency communications the creation of the StopOverdoseOttawa.ca campaign to increase awareness and align messages.

2018

OPH, in collaboration with partners and stakeholders, was in the process of developing a Comprehensive Substance Use and Mental Health – Focus on Opioids strategy.

As input to the strategy, a consultation was undertaken by OPH and The Strategic Counsel (TSC), a professional market research firm, seeking feedback from various stakeholders, including partners, agencies and individuals with living experience. The findings, based on input from over 70 stakeholders, are summarized in the Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Use – Focus on Opioids Strategy: Findings from Consultation report. A consensus emerged among stakeholders regarding several areas which were viewed as key to moving forward and achieving further progress. These became the three areas for discussion at the 2019 Ottawa Summit.

2019

On February 7, 2019, the Ottawa Summit on Opioids, Substance Use and Mental Health was convened as a joint initiative between OPH, The Royal and CAPSA. The day-long Summit brought together, in-person, more than 200 community members. Using a workshop approach, table discussions and expert panel discussions, participants shared ideas and identified priorities for action and a series of comprehensive next steps under each of the three key goal topic areas.

The following reports were produced subsequent to the 2019 Summit, outlining areas for improvements, actions and next steps.

A Post-Summit Summary Report (2019) and a Post-Summit Executive Summary (2019) outline the discussions and the key takeaways from the 2019 Summit. The report was used as a foundation for the development of the OCAP.

In September 2019, the Ottawa Community Action Plan (2019) was released. It outlines how tangible improvements could be made within the community to reduce harms related to substance use and mental health.

2020

Diverse community and national partners have continued to lead on the actions outlined in the plan. The Ottawa Community Action Plan Highlights Report (2020) outlines some of the steps that have been taken.

To continue to move the OCAP forward, the 2020 Virtual Summit was hosted by Ottawa Public Health (OPH), Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA), The Royal, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). This event brought together more than 160 attendees with varying perspectives and expertise to discuss issues and ideas for further action.

The discussions and the key takeaways from the 2020 Summit are outlined in the Post-Summit Summary Report (2020) and the Post-Summit Executive Summary (2020).

2021 - 2023

2021

On September 20, 2021, the Ottawa Board of Health approved the Ottawa Public Health’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan: Strategic Priority Relating to Mental Health and Substance Use Health.

The strategy includes recommendations to improve access to and quality of mental health care, for increased capacity for special intensive mental health services in the community and recommends the implementation of a municipal dashboard to monitor and report on mental health and substance use health services within the city.

The Board received a presentation from OPH’s Harm Reduction and School and Mental Health and Substance Use Program Managers, as well as from eight public delegations, all of whom expressed support for the report and recommendations, as well as for OPH’s work and partnerships in this area. The Board then voted to approve the report recommendations.

2022

OPH submitted a consultation response to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) on naloxone in the workplace. With the construction industry being disproportionally represented in the overdose crisis, in collaboration with RespectRX pharmacy engaged the industry to provide information on Bill 88 (Working for Workers Act,2022), how to identify and respond to an overdose and access to naloxone.

OPH expanded the Have THAT talk series and launched the have THAT Talk about Substance Use Health website and co-developed Tips for Talking to Someone about Substance Use in collaboration with Families for Addiction Recovery.

Developed and delivered virtual Naloxone trainings to school administrative staff, and with the reopening of many community spaces, OPH leveraged existing relationship to ensure Overdose Prevention and Party Safer support was provided for local events and festivals. Staff also established Neighbourhood Wellness Hubs in 5th quintile neighbourhood.

2023

In collaboration with the Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, OPH updated Ottawa's Overdose Response Strategy and launched this strategy as part of the Board of Health report, Ottawa Public Health's Update on Ottawa's Overdose Response Strategy.

To learn about the key activities being undertaken under the seven pillars of Ottawa's Overdose Response Strategy by many organizations, read the 2023 Key Activities report (pdf - 960 KB).

Ongoing Activities

In collaboration with partners, OPH will continue to update these key activities found under the seven pillars of Ottawa's Overdose Response Strategy on a regular basis.

The strategy is a comprehensive seven-pillar approach to address the multifaceted challenges posed by the toxic drug supply and the overdose crisis as well as the need to promote substance use health. These pillars are:

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Prevention across the lifespan

Prevention begins with addressing the root causes of poor health including poverty, racism, colonialism, housing access and much more. Prevention across the lifespan means providing interventions that focus on early childhood interventions, fostering resiliency, and promoting mental health, and substance use health across the lifespan.

Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy – Prevention Across the Lifespan (pdf - 207 KB).

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Advance and promote infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) development.	Ottawa Child and Youth Initiative	The early years are crucial for development. Investments in IECMH to prevent problems occurring later in life from mental health, addictions and substance use health issues.
Ask Masi: This project, titled “Ask Masi”, trains frontline Primary Perinatal Care Providers (PPCP) with existing prescribing authorities how to screen for perinatal mental illnesses and treat low-level anxiety or depression	The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), Ottawa Birth and Wellness Centre (OBWC), Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program (CMNRP)	Improve access to timely perinatal mental healthcare in the Ottawa region by supporting primary perinatal care providers with prescribing authority such as nurse practitioners, family physicians, and obstetricians to independently care for their patients’ mild to moderate perinatal mental illnesses (PMIs) closer to home, in community.
Provide screening, counselling, referral and early intervention of Perinatal Mood Disorders.	Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Reduce adverse childhood events (e.g., violence, abuse, neglect). Enhance resiliency.
Provide accessible mental health and substance use health information, resources and expertise through the Parenting in Ottawa website and social media.	OPH	Increase knowledge and understanding that helps parents with positive parenting strategies.
Provide accessible mental health and wellbeing online modules and education series such as Mind Master’s and Healthy Transitions programs for schools and educators.	OPH	Increase positive coping strategies and resiliency among children and youth.
Provide Party Safer training on safer use of many substances, including opioids, how to identify an overdose and access to naloxone kits.	OPH and pharmacy partners	Organizers and volunteers at large events, festivals, secondary and post-secondary institutions are better able to identify risks from many substances and prevent & respond to overdoses.
Provide Overdose Prevention training on how to ID and OD and how to respond in case of an overdose.	OPH and pharmacy partners	People who work in health and social services are better able prevent and respond to overdoses.
Provide capacity building training for faith leadership and Ottawa’s African, Caribbean, Black and racialized communities.	OPH	Increase capacity of Faith Leaders to provide basic mental health, crisis support and suicide prevention to newcomers and racialized communities.
Provide community partners in Neighbourhood Wellness Hubs (NWH) with mental health, addictions, and substance use health (MHAUSH) supports and resources.	OPH	Ensure equitable and safe access to MHASUH information, resources, and services including social services, referrals to partners such as Counselling Connect, AccessMHA, and 1call1click.ca.
Provide mental health focused youth group presentations (English & French) in Ottawa Schools and through the online portal for youth.	Youthnet RéseauAdo (YNRA)	Reduce stigma, increase coping strategies, and encourage youth to reach out for help.
Provide mental health, behavioural addictions, and substance use health presentations in Ottawa schools with youth.	Rideauwood (EN), Le Cap (FR)	Increase student access to prevention, education, and treatment to address substance use, behavioral addictions or mental health issues in and out of school.
Support the delivery and funding of Project STEP to address substance use health and technology use in Ottawa schools.	Ottawa Network for Education and OPH	Enhance the promotion of mental health and substance use health; improve social and physical environments that support health and well-being; and increase prevention across the health system. Increase participation in substance use prevention, education and treatment for young people (12 - 18) to reduce the health and social harms of substance use.
Provide mental health and substance use health focused training and supports to Post-Secondary Institutions	OPH	Increase access to knowledge building training and supports for post-secondary students during this critically transition period.
Enhance positive coping strategies and improve mental health and substance use health literacy through the have THAT talk video series and guides.	OPH	Increase knowledge and skills for people to improve their wellbeing through the evidence based video series, activity guides and resources.
Convene the Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force to further advance Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy.	OPH along with over 40 partner agencies	Increase collaborative efforts to prevent and respond to overdoses.
Advancement of the “Our Community, Our House, Working Together on Wellness” community mobilization project.	OPH	Increase access to Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health programming while prioritizing suicide prevention and overdose prevention trainings and offering pop-up hubs in marginalized and equity-denied communities.
Monitoring and responding to opportunities to influence policies at all levels of government.	OPH	Influence the advancement of healthy public policy.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Respond to the changing needs of the youth in the community by adapting the Youth Connections Ottawa (YCO) peer to peer program based on focus groups with youth from the following equity deserving groups; rural, francophone, African, Caribbean, Black community members and youth from lower socioeconomic status.	OPH	Increase knowledge of positive mental health and substance use health with youth, including positive coping skills and substance refusal skills through peer led initiatives.
Increase capacity of primary care providers by providing training, both in person and by webinar series.	OPH	Increase knowledge and capacity on mental health, addictions and substance use health, as well as local supports and services. A key focus of this training includes overdose prevention and response.

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Stigma reduction

Reducing barriers and improving care by addressing stigma and discrimination.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Work alongside people with lived and living expertise on various projects and initiatives.	CAPSA (formerly Community Addictions Peer Support Association) and Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Recognize the importance of continually working alongside people with lived and living expertise (PWLLE) ensures that the expertise and knowledge of PWLLE are part of the identified needs and solutions.
Review and update the spectrum of substance use health knowledge exchange products.	CAPSA	Advance understanding of substance use health, the spectrum of substance use and further reduce stigma. Recognize, reflect, and acknowledge the evolution of language related to substance use health.
Include acknowledgement of the impact of lives lost related to the overdose crisis and the toxic drug supply.	OPH	Acknowledging the grief, trauma and impact of lives lost to this crisis helps to reduce the stigma loved ones experience that may prevent them from seeking help.
Actively promote and embed the “Tips for talking about substance use” resource into knowledge exchange product through various channels.	Families for Addiction Recovery and OPH	Supporting families and loved ones to have safe and more effective conversations about the use of substances.
Promote the e-learning module, Stigma: How you can impact change, on Mental Health and Substance Use Health Stigma.	OPH	Supporting the community to learn about stigma and how everyone can work together to support the community through the language that is chosen.
Standardize the Stigma: How you can impact change, Party Safer and the OD Prevention and Response e-learning modules into staff training requirements.	Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre (PQCHC) and OPH	Building PQCHC staff capacity who engage with community members within the PQCHC catchment area. Trainings result in increased knowledge about stigma and the impacts of language, types of drugs, drug intoxication and overdose prevention, naloxone, how to respond to an opioid overdose, and availability of local supports.
Expand the Working on Wellness annual event to promote overall wellbeing and the connection between physical health, mental health and substance use health.	CAPSA	Public is more informed about Ottawa’s wellness community services including substance use health, mental health and physical health organizations.
Leverage the success of the 2023 City Studio project to expand the reach of stigma and the spectrum of substance use to first year medical students.	OPH and CAPSA	Medical students learn about substance use health and the stigma people face. This knowledge helps break down barriers to treatment by addressing and reducing societal stigma.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Advocate for the inclusion of an additional stigma focused question in the 2025 Ottawa results of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health survey.	OPH	Inform service providers about the areas of concern among youth in relation to MHASUH stigma, for system planning and service level interventions.
Conduct Population Health Surveys to assess aspects related to mental health, addictions and substance use health of people in Ottawa through collaborative efforts with the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System.	OPH	Identify local MHASUH needs and issues with a focus on stigma and help seeking, to inform action. Increase surveillance efforts across the province.
Leverage the work with PQCHC as a model to expand to other agencies.	OPH and PQCHC	Increase knowledge mobilization as it relates to stigma, party safer messaging and overdose prevention and response.

Harm reduction

Advancing existing and implementing new, innovative harm reduction strategies.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Provide Consumption and Treatment services in collaboration with partners: 3 Consumption and Treatment Services and 1 Supervised Consumption Service (OPH) offering services and referrals to additional health and social services in Ottawa. 1 24-hour access point; partner sites actively working to expand hours of service to meet demand.	Ottawa Inner City Health (OICH), Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC), Somerset West (SWCHC), Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Reduce deaths by reversing overdoses. Increased # of people connected to additional health and social services through the Supervised Consumption and Treatment Services.
Coordinate and lead the Ontario Naloxone Program (ONP) for the City of Ottawa, which provides take-home naloxone access to eligible organizations and their clients. Expand partnership to include local health and social service agencies, hospital emergency departments, Ottawa Police and Ottawa Paramedic Services.	OPH, over 25 community partners including hospitals and first responders	Overdoses from opioids are reversed and deaths are reduced.
Participate in the provincial Ontario Naloxone Pharmacy Program (ONPP), which provides take-home naloxone access to eligible clients.	Pharmacies throughout Ottawa	More individuals are equipped to save lives and reverse fatal overdoses including those at risk, their family, friends, and people who care for others.
Provide drug checking services.	Ottawa Inner City Health (OICH), Sandy Hill Centertown Health Centre (SHCHC)	Reduce overdoses from the local toxic unregulated supply.
Promote use of digital solutions for people using alone such as the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) (peer-based overdose prevention line).	OPH	Reduce overdose deaths for people using alone.
Provide evening outreach to isolated people that use drugs in the Centretown CHC, Carlington CHC, and Somerset West CHC (SWCHC) neighbourhoods. Provide extensive wrap-around support to service users, including access to primary care, mental health, housing, and harm reduction services.	SWCHC DOPE Team (peer support and overdose response)	Timely and effective support to individuals in distress. Reduced calls for service for police and paramedics. Increased safety for both service users and the broader community.
Employ people with lived and living experience of substance use to provide outreach services and improve community connections.	OICH, SHCHC, SWCHC, Drug Users Advocacy League (DUAL)	Increased reach to those segments of the substance using community who are most at risk of overdose and death and who face the most barriers in accessing mainstream health and social service through peer leaders.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Explore feasibility to expand services to address overdose by inhalation with partner CTS and clients.	OICH, OPH, SHCHC, SWCHC	Reduced deaths from the inhalation of substances.
Expand access to drug checking services.	OPH, Somerset West Community Health Centre	Reduced overdoses from the local toxic unregulated supply.

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Co-ordinate access to treatment and services

Improving access and care across the mental health, addictions, substance use health and social services sectors, including culturally appropriate care.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Maintain Prompt Care Clinic to provide rapid access to psychiatric consult services for people 18-65.	The Royal Mental Health Centre in collaboration with the Ottawa Hospital	Timely access to specialized psychiatric care for adults ages 18-65 years who are experiencing symptoms of mild to moderate mental illness.
Maintain and expand system navigation supports for adults through AccessMHA. People are paired with a mental health and addictions professional.	The Royal, Mental Health and Addictions Partners for Regional Coordinated Access	AccessMHA makes it easier for people 16 and older to find mental health, addictions and/or substance use health support, services, and care through referral and ongoing support. People are paired with a trained mental health and addictions professional to be connected to needed services from a network of partner organizations.
Maintain system navigation supports for children, youth and families through 1Call1Click.ca.	Kids Come First Health Team	1call1click.ca matches children, youth (from birth to age 21) and families with mental health, addictions and substance use health care service and assist in making an appointment. Coordinated care for children and youth with complex mental health and addiction needs who require services from numerous providers.
Maintain brief intervention counselling online and phone platform, Counselling Connect.	Network of counselling service providers with strategic oversight provided by the Ottawa Health Team.	Faster access to no cost counselling and support groups for children, youth and adults.
Deliver the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic services, including the digital front door, to help address the growing need for substance use treatment.	The Royal Mental Healthcare Centre	Reduce opioid- and alcohol-related emergency department visits, related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Helps to address the growing need for substance use treatment.
Maintain the Paramedic Mental Wellbeing Response team.	Ottawa Paramedic Services and The Ottawa Hospital	9-1-1 callers experiencing a mental health issue receive more timely medical assessment, referral, care plan and follow-up.
Expansion of the Mental Wellbeing Response team to include access to Rapid Access Addiction Medicine.	Paramedic Services, The Ottawa Hospital and The Royal	Improve access to low barrier treatment services and reduced opioid-related emergency department visits, related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Advance the City of Ottawa’s Community and Social Services Department 10 Year Housing and Homeless Plan 2020-2030.	City of Ottawa	Increase access to supportive housing to minimize harms from substance use in our communities and better support people experiencing challenges from substance use.
Advance strategic action plan that articulates a comprehensive approach to address the immediate, short-term and long-term needs of unsheltered residents. Includes developing accessible & available services to support mental health and substance use health needs in collaboration with partners.	City of Ottawa’s Unsheltered Task Force	Decrease individual and societal harmful impacts experienced by people experiencing homelessness and people unstably housed.
Ask Masi: This project, titled “Ask Masi”, trains frontline Primary Perinatal Care Providers (PPCP) with existing prescribing authorities how to screen for perinatal mental illnesses and treat low-level anxiety or depression. Provides real-time peer supervision by phone or e-consult to assist PPCPs with practical feedback on more complex cases and community resources. Offers one-time virtual perinatal psychiatry consultation within one week for the most complex cases to assist PPCP with diagnostic clarification.	The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), Ottawa Birth and Wellness Centre (OBWC), Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program (CMNRP)	Improve access to timely perinatal mental healthcare in the Ottawa region by supporting primary perinatal care providers with prescribing authority such as nurse practitioners, family physicians, and obstetricians to independently care for their patients’ mild to moderate perinatal mental illnesses (PMIs) closer to home, in community.
Expand the Archipel Postpartum Wellness clinic.	Archipel Ontario Health Team, the Montfort Hospital, and OPH	Timely postpartum mental health support to birthing individuals without a primary care provider.
Established training on co-leading and development with people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) for health care providers including Ontario Health Teams.	CAPSA	Advance efforts to learn from PWLLE as co-leaders, experts and developers in system planning.
Promote knowledge exchange resource of Black MHASUH Service providers in Ottawa.	Somerset West Community Health Centre, OPH	Improve information for people in Ottawa’s Black community on where to find culturally appropriate service providers.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Proposal completed for the development of a MHASUH Urgent Care centre.	Ottawa West 4 Rivers OHT MHASUH Action Team	Improved access to receiving timely urgent healthcare.

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Community safety and wellbeing

Furthering efforts to improve the safety and wellbeing of all people who live, work, play, and visit Ottawa.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Implementation of the Integrated Community Support Team. A group of organizations with a network of resources to assess needs and deliver a wide array of services from legal support, street outreach, housing, medical treatment, substance use treatment, emergency shelters, safer supply and targeted engagement and diversion.	Ottawa Police Services (OPS)	People identified by the Integrated Community Support Team are assessed and connected to needed supports. Community needs are assessed with partner agencies.
Provide residents and business with support and information.	City of Ottawa’s Community Engagement Team	Better understanding of concerns and assist with coordination of services.
Enhance the Community Needle Retrieval Programming in areas of identified need identified by community partners, local businesses, community members and health and social services partners. Launch an enhanced community needle reporting process.	Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Increased needle drop box locations and needle hunter routes. Increased coordination and enhancement of city and community partner discarded needle retrieval services.
Conduct routine inspections, complaint-based investigations, enforcement and public reporting for Ontario Ministry of Health funded Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) operating within the City of Ottawa.	OPH	Results of the routine inspection are found at ottawapublichealth.ca.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Launch the Safer Alternatives for Mental Health and Substance Use Crises Response pilot (in Centretown, starting in 2024)	Guiding Council and the Community Safety and Well-being Plan	Provide community members with a community-based, civilian-led, multi-disciplinary and mobile crisis response teams that offer 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate crisis response with linkages to wrap around services.
Implement the new ‘Block Leaders’ program pilot.	Ottawa Inner City Health and the ByWard Market Balanced Task Force	Restore positive aspects of street culture with a priority on improving behavioral norms with people experiencing homelessness and those who use substances.
Advocating for improved community connections and cohesiveness for people experiencing homelessness and all people that work, live and visit the ByWard Market. All people in the Byward Market have an urgent need for community spaces where people can meet, congregate and connect.	ByWard Market Balanced Task Force	Restore safe spaces where people can build community with an increased focus on animation, beautification and better lighting, and increased access to resources that meet basic needs.
Establishment of the Sandy Hill Community Liaison Committee (SHCLC) in September 2023, which includes a broad and inclusive representation of business owners, direct and indirect service providers, housed residents and persons with lived/living experience with homelessness and/or addictions.	Action Sandy Hill, SHCHC, City of Ottawa Community Engagement Team	This committee endeavors to work together to have unique perspectives heard as it relates to the localized impacts of rising unmet housing, social and healthcare needs and the toxic drug supply in the area and strives to work on short- and long-term localized solutions for a safe and thriving community for all. As activities start to take shape, regular briefings will be produced from this group and shared with federal, provincial, municipal and other stakeholders.
Development of a Community Hub in the ByWard Market.	OPS	A public-facing storefront that is easily accessible to residents and those in need to connect them with either police or social services. The hub would house all City partners and provide a one-stop shop for those seeking help, particularly those at high risk.

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Cluster and response strategy

Monitoring and ensuring timely reporting on emerging issues that are causing harm from the toxic drug supply, including supporting media reporting.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Continue to maintain an early warning and enhanced local surveillance system, which includes real-time qualitative and quantitative indicators and complementary information on local overdose risk (stopoverdoseottawa.ca).	Overdose Prevention and Response taskforce (ODPRTF) and Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Communicate public messages to provide timely and lifesaving information on the toxic drug supply, knowing the signs of an overdose, carrying naloxone, and calling 9-1-1.
Issue timely drug warnings and share information on local trends that impact health and wellbeing, including updating the alert system using Stop Overdose Ottawa (i.e., new substances in the toxic drug supply such as xylazine and benzodiazepines).	ODPRTF, the Office of the Chief Coroner	Provide timely warnings of local trends and toxic substances in the drug supply allows for earlier action to prevent further harms and deaths.
Maintain the “Ottawa Inter-agency Opioid Overdose Cluster Response Plan”.	ODPRTF	Outlines the operational responses of all partner organizations to a cluster of opioid overdoses in the City.

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Data and surveillance

Improving the availability of evidence to inform system planning and actions by collecting, analyzing, and sharing data.

Ongoing interventions

Ongoing interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Provide timely surveillance data and early indicators on the overdose crisis through the overdose overview tool on stopoverdoseottawa.ca.	Ottawa Public Health (OPH)	Monitor and act on the evolving overdose crisis to prevent and reduce overdoses.
Provide data and evidence that supports actions.	Ottawa Coroner’s Office	Monitor trends in the toxic drug supply to ensure evidence informed interventions to reduce deaths. Examples include recommendations such as safer inhalation services and drug checking services.
Implement recommendations from the Mental Health of Ottawa’s Black Community Report for mental health supports in Ottawa’s Black Community including Establishment of the Ottawa Black Mental Health Coalition and targeted interventions with Faith Leaders.	OPH	Address the beliefs, experiences, gaps, and opportunities for mental health supports for people in Ottawa’s Black Community.
Conduct Population Health Surveys to assess aspects related to mental health, addictions and substance use health of people in Ottawa through collaborative efforts with the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System.	OPH	Identify local MHASUH needs and issues with a focus on stigma and help seeking, to inform action. Increase surveillance efforts across the province.
Advocate for the inclusion of an additional stigma focused question in the 2025 Ottawa results of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health survey.	OPH	Inform service providers about the areas of concern among youth in relation to MHASUH stigma, for system planning and service level interventions.
Maintain and ensure knowledge mobilization of the Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Community Dashboard which provides a fulsome status of mental health, addictions and substance use health experiences in Ottawa.	OPH, Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, and other partners	Inform actions for system and service planning, identify needs and gaps as well as opportunities for research.

Mid-development interventions

Mid-development interventions
Interventions	Lead agencies	Outcomes and impacts
Analyze and disseminate the 2023 Ottawa results of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health survey.	OPH	Inform service providers about the areas of concern among youth in relation to MHASUH, for system planning and service level interventions.

If you require additional information, please visit our StopoverdoseOttawa.ca website or contact us via email at Substancehealthsante@ottawa.ca.

We are in this together.

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Reports

News

Staying informed on the toxic drug supply can save lives. Sign up to receive our new Stop Overdose Ottawa Alerts. Stop Overdose Ottawa Alerts are issued when Ottawa’s Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force becomes aware of issues related to toxic drugs circulating in the community. Examples include: increased risk of overdose, new drug toxicity risk, and other new or noteworthy drug trends presenting in the local unregulated drug supply.

June 11, 2024 : Ottawa Public Health in collaboration with its partners launches the Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Business Support Toolkit. The toolkit is here to support local businesses and their dedicated employees, with a suite of practical resources designed to enhance safety, health, and overall community well-being.

Sharps kits are available for pick-up at participating locations. Keeping Ottawa neighbourhoods safe is our collective responsibility. In an effort to promote community safety, Ottawa Public Health (OPH), along with numerous City and community partners, has implemented a variety of measures to provide safe options for disposing of drug paraphernalia and addressing items that have been improperly discarded. Learn how to dispose of needles and drug paraphernalia.

See our new factsheets on nitazenes and medetomidine/dexmedetomidine in the unregulated drug supply.

Substances 101

Learn about the different types of substances.

Harm reductions services

Services provided, supervised consumption services, partner agencies and pharmacies.

Statistics

Statistics about the current overdose crisis.

Prevention

Preventing and responding to an overdose and naloxone.

Find your way community resource guide

Shelters, needle exchange and safe inhalation equipment locations, methadone services, drop-ins and more.

Professionals