Harm Reduction in Peel Region: A Community-Based Response from Moyo

The substance use crisis in Canada is often described through the number of lives lost. With this critical and hard-to-collect data, we are trying to do something different: make a meaningful community-based response visible.

Context: An average of 20 lives were lost each day in Canada because of opioid-related overdoses in 2024. In Peel, it is estimated that nearly half of deaths due to drug toxicity and overdose occur when there is no one present to intervene. Translation: people die alone.

Harm reduction is about reducing the harms associated with substance use while recognizing that all people deserve safety, dignity, and care. It does not treat drug use as a moral failing or require abstinence as a condition for support. In practice, harm reduction includes tools and services such as safer-use supplies, naloxone, overdose prevention, education, STI testing, and PrEP.

The program: Moyo Health & Community Services provides harm reduction services rooted in dignity, respect, and non-judgment. They offer safer-use supplies, education, and support to reduce the risks associated with substance use and promote overall well-being.

Peer Satellite Workers have lived or living experience of substance use and are often champions in their communities. They provide harm reduction supplies, education, and informal counselling in the community, with the hope that once trust is built, clients working with peers will feel safe enough to access supports and resources from other Moyo staff, as well as other services and resources.

As the external evaluator, I want to name what it takes to collect this kind of data from a hidden population: time, persistence, and building and maintaining trusting relationships.

Open access download:

Chalcraf, A., Kaminiski, N., McCalla, S., Mohindra, R., Watkins, J., & Salehi, R. (2026). Harm Reduction Satellite Site Program at Moyo: Key Monitoring and Evaluation Results. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20607447