FINDING INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FOR SUBSTANCE USE & HOMELESSNESS by Fresh Outlook Foundation

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About This Session

Join researchers, public health experts, people with lived experience, and other key stakeholders as they explore integrated solutions for reducing the substance use and homelessness faced by many communities and their most vulnerable populations.

Session Agenda

WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (Joanne de Vries, Fresh Outlook Foundation & Javeed Sukera, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University)
STIGMA: The Elephant in Every Room (Stephanie Knaak, PhD, Mental Health Commission of Canada)
STORIES BEHIND THE STATISTICS: Successful Models of Care for Substance Use (Guy Felicella, Recovery Advocate to BC Centre of Sustance Abuse; Mark Tyndall, MD, ScD, PhD, Epidemiologist/Public Health Expert; Tom Smithwick, BA, LLB, QC, Freedom's Door Addiction Recovery Program for Men)
COMPLICATED LINKS: Traumatic Brain Injury, Substance Use & Homelessness (Jacob Stubbs BKin, UBC Department of Psychiatry)
HOUSING FOR ALL: Pioneering a Coordinated & Accessible System of Care (Person with lived experience; TBD; John Graham PhD, UBCO School of Social Work)
PANEL DISCUSSION: Connecting All PIeces of the Integration Model (All speakers)

Presenters & Panelists

Laura Elliott

Fresh Outlook Foundation

Summit Host

The Fresh Outlook Foundation (FOF) envisions a future where everyone collaborates to make our communities healthier, happier, and more prosperous. To that end, FOF hosts vital community conversations for sustainable change that engage people from all interests, sectors, ages, cultures, abilities, genders, and sexual identities.

Jo de Vries (Co-Facilitator)

Fresh Outlook Foundation

Jo has worked with all levels of government in British Columbia, Canada for 30 years to help enrich their public outreach and engagement activities. In 2007 she established the Fresh Outlook Foundation as a charity to "inspire community conversations for sustainable change." To that end, FOF hosts events such as the highly acclaimed Building SustainABLE Communities conference, Eco-Blast Kids Camps, Reel Change SustainAbility Film Fests, and many more.

Her passion is now laser focused on fostering well-being for individuals, families, workplaces, and communities through the HEADS UP! Community Mental Health Summit and the HEADS UP! Community Mental Health Podcast.

Laurence East, MA (Co-Facilitator)

Community Advocate

Putting postgraduate degrees from the University of London and Harvard University to good use, Laurence initially worked for nonprofit organizations and social enterprises in the UK, China, Tibet, India, and South America.

In 2006, he founded Metro Community, a street-level church and social agency in Kelowna, BC, where he served as lead pastor and executive director until early 2019. During that time, he also co-founded 'Launch', a financial literacy program, also in Kelowna, BC. Most recently, Laurence helped lead the Central Okanagan Foundation and the Central Okanagan Food Bank.

He now serves as global chair of the Panahpur Foundation, a social finance vehicle and impact investment advisory group, based in London, UK. And he serves as an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Management at UBC and a guest lecturer at Okanagan College.

Stephanie Knaak, PhD

Mental Health Commission of Canada

Stephanie holds a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Alberta. At the University of Calgary she is an assistant adjunct professor and an associate member of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba, a senior consultant researcher with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and principal of INSIGHT Research & Consulting.

Stephanie’s research specialties include mental illness and substance-use related stigma, Canada’s opioid crisis, and workplace mental health. She has published more than 50 academic articles and research reports on these topics. Her current research focuses especially on mental illness and substance use-related stigma within healthcare systems.

Wendy Stevens

Guy Felicella

Peer Clinical Advisor, BC Centre on Substance Use

Guy spent years in the grips of addiction and now dedicates his career and personal passion to advocating for harm reduction and removing the stigma against addiction and substance users.

In addition to his career with the BC Centre on Substance Use, Guy commits his time to public outreach at conferences, seminars, summits, and schools and through podcasts, documentaries, and written articles. He educates the public and students on safer supply of drugs, decriminalization, harm reduction and treatment options. Guy is pushing barriers to address the current overdose crisis and addressing the truth behind the toxic drug supply.

Mark Tyndall, MD, ScD, FRCPC

Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health

Mark is an infectious diseases specialist, epidemiologist, and researcher. He is a professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia and was formerly the Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.

Mark's current work focuses on harm reduction and innovative solutions to prevent drug overdoses through decriminalization and a safer drug supply. He is a strong advocate for public health and human rights and has led a number of community-based harm reduction initiatives.

Tom Smithwick, BA, LLB, QC

Director, Freedom's Door Addication Recovery Program for Men

Tom is a retired lawyer and former Kelowna city councillor whose far-reaching efforts are widely recognized for supporting those in need. He was awarded the 125th Anniversary Medal by the Governor General in 1992, Kelowna’s Man of the Year in 2000, and the Caring Canadian Award from the Governor General of Canada in 2005. This year he was presented the BC governments’ prestigious Good Citizenship Medal.

Creating the Freedom’s Door Addiction Recovery Program for Men 18 years ago is just one example of Tom's determination to better community health and well-being. The program provides housing, counselling, and support for men suffering from addiction and other mental health issues. Freedom’s Door owns the largest group of recovery homes in B.C. Currently it can provide services for 67 men in seven duplex homes.

Jacob Stubbs, BKIn

Experimental Medicine, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Jacob is a PhD candidate in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on how the health of homeless and precariously housed individuals is affected by traumatic brain injury. Using MRI brain scans and health assessments from the longitudinal “Hotel Study”, his work looks at how traumatic brain injury affects brain health and outcomes over time. Jacob has previous experience as a harm reduction volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society, and recently co-founded Zero Block Society, a harm reduction-focused non-profit.

John Graham, PhD, RSW

Professor & Director, UBCO School of Social Work

John is director of and professor with UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work. He held a similar position at Florida Atlantic University, and before that was the Murray Fraser Professor of Community Economic Development at the University of Calgary. At UC he also coordinated the MSW and PhD programs.

John has held almost $8 million in research funding and published over 120 journal articles, 51 book chapters, and 9 books on topics such as international development, social policy, diversity and social work, spirituality and social work, multicultural social work, and employee well being in and out of the workplace.

John currently heads the Kelowna Homelessness Research Collaborative, an interdisciplinary team of community-based researchers. With more than $1 million in funding, the collaborative is involved in tier-one publishing, positive social impacts, student training, and community engagement.