Ottawa, Sept 19, 2019 - Stigma is one of the biggest barriers to recovery for people dealing with substance use disorder.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) is teaming up with the City of Ottawa and local organizations to create a collective impact model that can be used across Canada to reduce the damage done by stigma. CCSA is partnering with the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, the Community Addictions Peer Support Association, the Royal Ottawa Hospital and the Canadian Public Health Association on this exciting new project.

Ottawa’s new collective impact initiative, announced at the City’s annual Recovery Day event (September 13), aims to reduce stigma in communities, services and workplaces across the city through a long-term program of coordinated community action. Collective impact is a collaborative, multi-agency approach to addressing complex issues.

Rita Notarandrea, CCSA CEO, says: “We are thrilled to be part of the Ottawa’s journey towards ending the stigma that exists towards people with a substance use disorder. Working with our valued partners, we want to improve policies and practices, and reduce stigma in its various forms. We hope to identify tangible actions that we can all work on to bring about much-needed change in our communities, services and workplaces.

“Going forward, it is our hope that the lessons learned from this local initiative will help to guide an approach that can be used and adapted by other municipalities across Canada to address stigma in their communities.”