November 25th marks the beginning of National Addictions Awareness Week across the country, and locally, the Grande Prairie Northreach Society is encouraging residents to be mindful of addictions in the community.
Northreach’s Harm Reduction Team Lead Lindsay Loset says the week is a good time to start thinking about addictions as a whole, but also to be aware of what addictions could look like even in “high-functioning” individuals.
“There’s the idea of what we think somebody who is going through addiction might look, or sound, or be able to do but there’s a wide spectrum of individuals that might be struggling with substance use or addictive behaviors that can function very well throughout their day to day,” she says. “That’s a good thing to keep in mind, we have this idea of what someone struggling with addiction might look like, but there’s a wide spectrum of what that can actually look like.”
Loset encourages community members to check in on one another, as addiction can sneak up on someone, unbeknownst to their loved ones and peers, especially during times of struggle. She adds that while addictions awareness week is a good time to conduct any check-ins, addictions awareness as a whole should be kept in mind year-round.
“It’s kind of like random acts of kindness day, it’s good to be kind every day too, but it is a good reminder throughout the week to check in on people that you might think could be struggling or going through something that they’re turning to other coping mechanisms that might not be as helpful as others,” she says. “Even if us ourselves aren’t struggling with addiction, we might know people that are, and just reaching out to them, being a supportive person for them, and reminding ourselves to be as non-judgmental as possible so they can get that support and help if that’s what they’re needing.”
Northreach is hosting a variety of events throughout the week, including Naloxone training sessions at the GPPL on November 25th at 6:00 p.m., and another at 2:00 p.m. on November 29th.
