Addictions Don't Discriminate: A Day of Addiction Awareness and Learning

Inspiring understanding, empathy, and action.

By REACH Edmonton

Date and time

Tuesday, November 26 · 10am - 3pm MST

Location

Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre

11000 Stadium Road Edmonton, Alberta Canada

About this event

Event lasts 5 hours

Join us for Addictions Don't Discriminate: A Day of Addiction Awareness and Learning, an impactful event dedicated to breaking the stigma around addiction and substance use. This free community event aims to foster understanding, empathy, and practical skills among community members and professionals in social services, creating a safe space to learn, discuss, and grow.

Event Highlights:

Exhibit: Explore the Addictions Don’t Discriminate exhibit, open to the public from 10 am to 3 pm, which provides insight into the realities of addiction and the lives impacted by it.

Through the power of storytelling, the Addictions Don’t Discriminate exhibit offers a glimpse into the complex world of addiction, uncovering the human experience that lies beneath the statistics and stigma. Six unique stories, showcased in connection to one another, will push us to look beyond someone’s substance use and into the lived experience of each individual with empathy and compassion, to help us understand that Addictions Don’t Discriminate.

Who Should Attend?

This exhibit is open to everyone passionate about building a more compassionate and informed community.

We especially welcome:

Helping professionals, front-line staff, and management in social services
Community leaders,
Youth,
Post-secondary students,
Volunteers,
Anyone interested in learning more about addiction, and recovery support

Workshops for Front-Line Professionals:

Dive deeper with workshops led by expert facilitators.

Limited space available - registration required.

Please Note: Workshops are exclusively for helping professionals, students, or volunteers actively working in the social services sector.

This focus ensures tailored discussions, practical skills, and sector-specific insights to best support those on the front lines of addiction and recovery work. Thank you for your understanding.

Topics include:

Recovery-Informed Workplace (10 am to 11 am) presented by PEP Society – learn how we can support our colleagues and friends who are impacted by addiction.
Naloxone Kit Training (Noon - 1 pm) by Clinic Emergency Prep – Learn life-saving skills to address overdoses.
Basics of Harm Reduction (1:30 - 2:30 pm) by Marliss Taylor, Boyle Street Community Services.

Admission: Free!

Together, let’s work to build a community where compassion, awareness, and action are at the forefront of addiction support.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to walk through the event?

The exhibit shares six stories of lived experience along with information on contributing factors. If you would like to take in each story, you can expect the experience to take at least 60 minutes.

What is the purpose of the event?

Stigma is one of the main reasons people avoid treatment and support. Together with our partners, we are working to break the stigma by providing information about addiction, addressing the judgments about people who use drugs, and providing a safe and supportive environment for people to seek help,

Is there sensitive content?

Many of the stories shared in the exhibit include experiences of trauma including incidents of childhood sexual abuse, overdose, and suicide. This information may be upsetting for some. Although the stories share many difficult experiences, they also share messages of hope, strength, and resilience.

Organized by

REACH Edmonton

REACH is Edmonton's Council for Safe Communities. We are a backbone, community-based organization working to mobilize and coordinate organizations, community groups and Edmontonians to find innovative solutions to prevention and community safety.

Free