June seems to have been granted the special status of a month of awareness and education with National Indigenous History Month, Pride celebrations, and, for the harm reduction community, it is also Support. Don’t Punish month. 

Support. Don’t Punish is an international campaign to shift the narrative around people who use drugs from a punitive one to a more compassionate lens. 

Jenn McCrindle is a Rural Harm Reduction Outreach Worker with Turning Point. The rural outreach team works with people in communities like Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, Blackfalds, Mirror, Stettler, Camrose and many, many others. 

McCrindle said the experience is different within each community, but this month especially it is the objective of harm reduction teams to help change the lens through which people who use drugs are seen. 

“We are doing this work every single day. We’re trying to change people’s thinking or give them another viewpoint to consider when talking about drug use. This year, I’m pretty sure most of the events will be online. There have been rallies and things in several countries before, but this year will be mostly online,” she explained.

“We’re hoping to see lots of people with their Support. Don’t Punish t-shirts, their signs, and posting why they support and why they don’t think that punishment is the way to go. We want to create that awareness and keep the conversation going.”

Support. Don’t Punish was a slogan initially brought to the forefront by the International Drug Policy Consortium in 2011. It was brought about as a response to the United Nations Day on Illicit Trafficking, which is also on June 26.

Since 2013, communities around the world have come on board with the June 26th International Day of Action, where harm reduction agencies and their adjacent partners work to create a dialogue of change. 

For McCrindle, this means reaching out to communities that are still seeing more isolation, discrimination and misinformation around people who use drugs. She said they are constantly having conversations about what harm reduction means and how to support people where they are at in life. 

“I have noticed that it is extremely difficult [to have these conversations] in a rural setting. I’m used to doing my work in urban centres, and a lot of the agencies and organizations and front-line workers were familiar with harm reduction and they have accepted that as part of their service delivery,” she said.

“In rural communities, we’re really still just trying to get people to wrap their heads around clean needle distribution and getting people that use drugs support, period. And that’s challenging”

“Of course, I believe that everybody deserves appropriate supports. We’re working hard to support those communities and the people who use drugs, but we’re met with a lot of backlash. There’s a lot of misinformation and it makes it tough.”

McCrindle said this year, they are continuing to address the issue of overdose deaths, not just by opioids but with other drugs as well. She said the numbers looked to be shrinking last year, but with isolation and a lack of supply for people who use drugs, the overdoses and deaths are starting to spike again. 

“We know for sure now that we are seeing an increase in overdoses in Alberta. I think part of that has to do with the isolation component of the lockdown, and the other part is an unregulated drug supply. It’s becoming more and more dangerous for people to buy off the street. That’s worrisome for us, that overdoses are in fact increasing, calls to EMS are increasing,” she said. 

McCrindle said the best way people can get involved is to volunteer with a local harm reduction or outreach organization or to simply get informed using online resources. 

She said it’s important that people understand why people may use drugs, and to recognize that there is often trauma or other factors that might bring a person to that space. 

From there, she said it’s important to meet them where they are at in their addiction and rather than judge them or force them into any particular action to see people with compassion and understanding. 

“It makes you realize what life is like for people who use drugs, how their lives are and what they have to worry about. Things that we take for granted, such as having our basic needs met. For some people, that’s an all day, everyday struggle,” she said.

“I think talking to people and hearing their stories, hearing about what led them to this place can really change people’s perspectives.”

McCrindle also said that education around different methods of support can go a long way in understanding the complexity of drug use and overdoses. She said people should take it upon themselves to get educated about why a one-size-fits-all approach to addiction or substance use will not work for every person who uses drugs. 

“Everyone’s experience is different, so one-size-fits-all treatment or intervention is not going to work for everybody. We need a multitude of different things. It’s about finding what works for people, wherever they’re at,” she said.

To find out more about the Support. Don’t Punish campaign, you can check out their website or get in touch with a local harm reduction group.

 As well, there is a multitude of information available online, in libraries and in speaking directly to people who use drugs that could help a person become more familiar with the concept of drug use and harm reduction philosophy.