BC Stronger Together Project

Stronger Together is now actively underway across British Columbia. The primary goals of the project are to:

Build capacity for family-led support groups in regions and towns where little or none exists: Healing Hearts (for families experiencing the grief of losing a loved one to drugs), and Holding Hope (for families with loved ones using drugs).
Train and support families with lived experience who are interested in facilitating family-led support groups in their community.
Understand the impact of substance use on BC families.
Advocate to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions (project funder) to address systemic barriers and help families find balance and peace within these struggles.

Progress so far:

In September 2020, a survey was sent out to both MSTH members and family-serving organizations throughout BC. The survey asked families/agencies what supports were needed in their communities and included an invitation to assist in expanding support to families who are grieving and to those who are supporting a loved one who is struggling through the development of Healing Hearts and Holding Hope support groups. The response has been wonderful. From small communities up North, to First Nations communities and beyond, the response has underlined the importance of strengthening support to families impacted by the overdose crisis in the province of BC.
The Stronger Together team was also pleased to bring on board Dr. Jamie Piercy, a UBC researcher who is studying the impact of the overdose crisis on families in this province. Her findings will assist this project in communicating to our provincial government bodies the urgent need for support to families. The survey will be released in November 2020.

The expansion of Healing Hearts Bereavement Support Groups and Holding Hope Family Support Groups will take place in the spring of 2021, as we assist new facilitators to become trained.

If you live in BC and would like to become trained to facilitate a support group, contact us at strongertogether@momsstoptheharm.com.