Scott Neufeld knows the valuable role frontline workers play in the fight against stigma around substance use.

To help them effect change, the Brock University Assistant Professor of Psychology has been on the ground sharing his research with health workers in Ontario.

During National Addictions Awareness Week last month, Neufeld travelled to the province’s northern cities to talk about harm reduction and stigma related to substance use.

Over the course of five days, he gave a series of 11 talks, workshops and training sessions with public health units and other community organizations, including Public Health Sudbury and Districts and Réseau Access Network in Sudbury, DIY Community Health and Northern College in Timmins, the Counselling Centre of East Algoma in Elliot Lake and Algoma Public Health in Sault Ste. Marie.

Topics included structural stigma around substance use, harm reduction, health inequities and the politics of stigma.

Brock Assistant Professor Scott Neufeld recently visited northern Ontario communities to share his research on stigma related to substance use and harm reduction.

For Neufeld, the knowledge mobilization trip was a chance to engage with people with lived and living experience (PWLLE), local politicians, and the community health workers who “are doing the work of trying to address stigma at the community level” — both by sharing his work and by hearing about their insights on and experiences with stigma.

“Being able to hear how people are addressing the things that I’m talking about and sharing examples from their own context is a really rich learning experience that helps me define what these issues look like and the value and impact of studying them,” he says. “It feels really rewarding to be a part of that process and possibly give people a new lens or a new way of thinking about the work they’re doing so they’re more able to envision solutions and feel empowered to do meaningful strategic and effective anti-stigma work.”

Lisa O’Brien, Health Promotion Specialist in Community Wellness at Algoma Public Health, says extensive consultation with local community members, including PWLLE and their families, identified stigma as “a weakness in our community and a barrier to people accessing services.”

“We looked to Scott Neufeld’s research on anti-stigma campaigns and recommendations to guide evidence-informed practices,” she says. “As a result, we have suggested that local organizations address structural stigma through assessment and training as a next step in our report.”

The Algoma Public Health report, Toxic Drugs in Algoma: Community Assessment and Next Steps, was launched on Nov. 29.

“Having Scott attend the launch of our report and speak about structural stigma helped us understand that by looking internally at how our policies and practices may be excluding people, we can improve the quality of the services we provide and ensure that people who use drugs feel valued, safe and supported,” O’Brien says.